Dead Man Walking
by seagate
Summary: The Kyuubi Chakra was split into two halves and sealed into Naruto's sisters, the Yang into Erza, and the Yin into Mito. But there was another being there that night, and three possible hosts. Minato was able to survive the sealing by changing the seal at the last minute, not realizing his mistake until years later. First six chapters adopted from Jinx777.
1. Chapter 1

****AN: Yes I know another story what am I doing. The simple answer is I read an awesome story called Dead Man Walking, and while I was reading the story I started having some ideas, and well I couldn't resist.****

 ** **So therefore I decided to ask him for permission to adopt his story which he gave me, adding in my own spin on things as I did. I will start by saying that this story like the original will take influences from a number of different anime. The anime that will be being used will be, Deadman Wonderland, Tokyo Ghoul and Soul Eater. I will not be taking enough from each of the anime to call this a crossover, as everything will be set in the Narutoverse and be compatible with the Narutoverse.****

 ** **Also I will categorically state that this is not going to be a bashing story as I don't really like those kind of stories. Instead I am going to try and represent the characters as realistically as I can. Also it is going to have a lot of interesting and in expected twists and turns in it. I just hope you all enjoy the way I am going to be taking the story and I hope I don't disappoint.****

 ** **Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto, and this story was originally written by Jinx777. I have adopted it from him with his permission, their will be some changes. As when I first read this story I had some pretty cool ideas and I only hope you like them as much as I did.****

 **( - )**

 _Summary- The Kyuubi Chakra was split into two halves and sealed into Naruto's sisters, the Yang into Erza, and the Yin into Mito. But there was another being there that night, and three possible hosts. Minato was able to survive the sealing by changing the seal at the last minute, not realizing his mistake until years later._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 1- Happy Birthday**

 **( - )**

Naruto sat in his room glaring out the window into the training field out back of his family's house, the curtains were mostly closed and the lights were off. The room itself was mostly bare, almost clinically so, the only things present in the room was a bed, desk and dresser. More so everything inside it was white, and it looked to have been cleaned so obsessively that there wasn't even a spec of dirt.

Looking around he couldn't help but frown as he looked around, he hated the colour white, it was too bright and clean, like everything else in his life.

Naruto was one of three children, triplets in fact. Turning back to the window he once again looked out, watching as his sisters trained. Mito, continually hit and kicked a training dummy, their father Minato watching on from the side lines occasionally calling out pointers to her or words of encouragement. He could see the pattern of her moves, could almost hear the beat her hits were making as they hit the training dummy.

On the other side of the family training ground, he could see his other sister Erza, she unlike Mito was moving through a number of swordsmanship stances wielding a wooden sword in her right hand. Kushina like Minato was stood on the side line, smiling as she directed her training, teaching her different stances as she did so.

Both of his sisters looked like mini versions of their mother with the same long red hair and light purple eyes, but unlike Kushina they had three whisker marks on each cheek. Mito was dressed in a baggy white shirt, red shinobi trousers, to finish this off her outfit she had white bandages wrapped around her hands and wrists. Erza on the other hand, had taken a recent liking to wearing armour, with a blue shirt beneath her armour and heavy metal boots as oppose to traditional shinobi sandles. But while they both looked like mini versions of Kushina, the resemblance was nothing compared to how much they looked like each other. The only way to tell them apart was there clothes, and sometimes their hair styles.

There was a reason why Naruto was sat sulking in his room whilst his sisters were outside being trained by their parents Minato and Kushina. The reason for this separation began almost nine years ago, on the night he and his sisters were born, the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox had been forcibly extracted from his mother, who had been left weak from giving birth to both Naruto and his two sisters. Luckily Minato had been prepared and been able to reseal it before it could do any real damage to the village, he had also been able to seal just enough of the chakra in the air into his wife in order to keep Kushina alive, despite having had the Kyuubi removed from her.

When it came down to sealing the Kyuubi again, Minato wasn't able to seal it back into his wife as in her weakened state it would kill her. Instead he had had to seal it in his own children, who due to their Uzumaki heritage were the only ones who could safely contain the beast. The fox was therefore split in half, with the Kyuubi's Yin chakra being sealed into Mito and its Yang chakra being sealed into Erza. His sisters were chosen as they were healthier and stronger than Naruto who was born the smallest of the triplets, the runt of the litter so to say.

Because of this both his sisters needed training from a young age in order to control the demonic chakra that was contained inside their bodies, along with the violent reaction that came with it. Naruto had seen them lose control once from his window, and both had been little more than wild animals until his parents slapped a seal on them to put them down and help them regain control.

Unfortunately though Naruto had not had a part of the Kyuubi sealed into him that night, he had not been left unaffected from that hellish night, though unlike his sisters he didn't get a power boost from the effects of that night.

According to the doctors, the Kyuubi's chakra had affected both Naruto and his sister's bodies while in their mother's womb. Mito and Erza weren't affected by it because they had the Kyuubi sealed inside them, their bodies having it's chakra to fight the effects. Something Naruto did not have.

They didn't even have a name for what Naruto had, and he really hoped they didn't name it after him.

The problem Naruto's body had supposedly developed from exposure to the Kyuubi's chakra at such a young age, was that it only converted around twenty percent of the food he ate into nutrients, making it so that no matter how much he ate he was always starving. His body was painfully thin and weak, and because of that Naruto tended to be constantly fatigued and tire very quickly. The Doctors had actually expected him to have died before he reached the age of two, and were shocked when he passed what they called the 'danger age'. While they claimed he would never be completely healthy, they also said that he wasn't going to just keel over and die without warning.

However despite having got passed the 'danger age' that still didn't stop his family from treating him like glass, like a strong wind would make him break. This had led to his parents developing an over protectiveness when dealing with Naruto, something his sisters had also picked up.

Therefore while his sisters were being trained by his parents to be ninja Naruto was forced to simple watch, and if he even looked like he might ask for training they would give him this…look, like the mere idea of him training terrified them.

They always said they would train him when he was older and healthier, that they needed to focus on his sisters because of the fox, but Naruto knew they were just trying to placate him. They never intended to train him, at least not unless he gave them no choice, instead they probably wanted him to remain a civilian and stay safe behind the walls of Konoha for the rest of his life.

Unlike Mito and Erza who took after their mother, Naruto took more after their father Minato. In fact, in the same way his sisters looked like their mother, Naruto was a near exact copy of his father. He had the same golden blonde hair with random spikes sticking up in every direction, and the same blue eyes. At least he would have been if he wasn't so thin and pale. His skin was so pale it had an almost grey tinge to it, and was wrapped so tight around his body you could see the bones. His eyes also seemed dimmer than his father's almost lifeless in fact.

Like his sisters Naruto had three whisker like birthmarks on his cheeks, though said cheeks were sunken in. There were also dark rings around his eyes, making it look like he constantly had a pair of black eyes.

Despite the fact that his room was white, Naruto's clothes were quite dark, making his skinny unhealthy figure stand out even more. He wore a pair of black shinobi trousers, a grey T-shirt that despite being so small was still baggy on Naruto's body, and over the top he had a thick black hoodie with the hood pulled up to cover his hair. This was mostly so that his skin was covered, leaving only his face and hands uncovered, as no matter where he went he always felt cold.

With a small grunt, Naruto turned away from the window and closed the curtain fully and plunging the room into complete darkness. Yet despite this, Naruto could still see perfectly as if the room was full of light. Naruto always hated bright like, it hurt his eyes and burned his skin. He much preferred the dark, where he could see even if other people couldn't.

Moving to his bed Naruto quickly got on his knees and reached under it, pulling out a scroll a moment later with a sigh. It was a scroll he had taken from his father's library, a very important scroll even if the information it held wasn't considered hard to find.

The scroll contained the method to unlock a person's chakra system, giving them access to the energy running through their body. If his family knew he had this, they would undoubtable take it from him.

His father thought he was too weak to try and unlock his chakra, and didn't want Naruto to even try for fear of him getting hurt. His mother would be more than happy to never even let him leave the house again, and if she had her way Naruto would be forced to walk around in a bubble. Mito and Erza were no better than their parents, and despite them being the same age treated him more like a little brother.

Naruto had been studying the scroll for the last week, making sure he understood everything. He didn't dare try and unlock his chakra in the house while his family was around through, his mother was a Sensory Type after all and would be able to feel him unlock it if she was nearby.

That was why he had been waiting for today, or more precisely tonight to finally go through with it.

Tonight his parents would be out of the house, leaving only his sisters for Naruto to get passed. While Mito was starting to show signs of being a Sensory Type like their mother she was inexperienced, and wouldn't be able to tell if he wasn't in the house. She would however feel it if he unlocked his chakra, which meant he would need to get out the house without them knowing.

Naruto found his right hand moving to his pocket, absently palming the kunai inside it that he had stolen from his sister Erza's room. He would unlock his chakra and finally prove to his family that he wasn't as weak as they all believed and that he could actually be a ninja, just like them.

 **( - )**

 **(That night)**

It had been easier than usual to sneak out of the house, not that Naruto was complaining. Both Mito and Erza had been busy reading some scrolls that their mother had given to them, and they had been so invested in their scrolls that they didn't even notice him sneak passed. Ironic that the son they thought was incapable of being a shinobi could sneak passed his already in training sisters.

As soon as he was out of the door Naruto sprinted to the fence at the back of the training ground, aiming for one specific part of the fence behind a bush. By the time he reached it Naruto was panting his pallid skin flushed red from his brief attempt at sprinting, so much so that he had to lean on his knees for support.

It was times like this he really hated his body.

Quickly moving behind the bush so he was out of sight of the house, Naruto took a moment to get his breath back before glancing back to make sure no one had seen him. When he was sure no one had seen him Naruto turned his attention instead to the fence, pushing on the bottom of a particular plant and smirking when it moved.

Quickly squeezing through Naruto paused just long enough to make sure it closed behind him before running off into the forest that took up the space behind his family's home, the shadows between the trees soon covering him as he disappeared from sight.

For the next half hour Naruto slowly made his way further away from his home and deeper into the forest, only stopping when he found a small clearing and could no longer hear the sound of the village behind him.

Licking his dry lips Naruto sat himself down in the middle of the clearing on a rock with a flat surface, taking the scroll out and unrolling it as he did so.

Naruto was about to start reading when he heard a noise coming from one of the trees around the edge of the clearing, and faster than his weak body should have been able to, he pulled the kunai out of his pocket and threw it towards the place where sound was coming from with deadly aim. He had spent hours learning to throw that kunai while his parents were training his sisters, and it seemed to finally be paying off.

He watched as what looked like a hawk fell out of the tree, the kunai having hit it right in the centre of its chest. As he walked over to retrieve his blade Naruto also noted with dull curiosity that it's left wing had broken when it hit the ground, but didn't think any more about it as he wrenched his kunai out and wiped the blood off on the grass. Looking at the broken body of the hawk at his feet, Naruto couldn't hide his curiosity. Having lived such a sheltered life, he had never actually seen a body before, it therefore took a great amount of effort for him to tear his attention away from the site before him.

Finally returning to his previous position on the rock, Naruto turning his attention back to the scroll and slowly started to form the hand seal it said was needed to focus his unlocked chakra.

Closing his eyes Naruto turned all his focus inwards, looking for the 'streams of chakra' as the scroll called them running through his body like water. He started by feeling around his stomach for the swirling pool of chakra, where all the small streams were supposed to run to and from. It was supposed to be the easiest part of his body to find because it was also the biggest, followed by the head and then the heart.

Slowing his breathing as he went deeper and deeper into himself, the world outside slowly started to fade away from his senses and Naruto found himself in a world of darkness. It was cold and dark, nothing around him and Naruto was starting to worry when it didn't change. This was supposed to be where his chakra was stored, the scroll said it should have been a blue light flowing like water in the darkness.

Panic starting to set in, Naruto's mental image started to turn in every direction as his breathing picked up, looking around desperately for any sign of light until finally he stopped and just seemed to shrink into himself. His family was right, he was too weak to be a ninja. He couldn't even find his chakra, or worse yet he had so little it was invisible to him.

Naruto was ready to give up completely at that moment and was about to leave, when something in the dark suddenly grabbed his wrist. It felt like a hand, but it was hard as stone and as cold as ice. He could almost feel the bruise forming under its grip as it started trying to pull him even deeper into the darkness. Eyes widening in fear Naruto tried to pull away from whatever it was that was holding him, the darkness hiding it from him. But it was too strong, its grip unyielding as it pulled him down.

This was impossible, he was in his mind.

Nothing else should be in his mind!

Naruto wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth no sound came out.

Finally the thing let go of his wrist, Naruto quickly hugging it to his body as he tried in vain to see what had been holding it. He turned in every direction, unsure of what was up or down at his moment as his eyes shot about looking for anymore movement in the darkness. However instead of movement, Naruto's eyes found something else. Something that made his heart skip a beat and tears form in the corners of his eyes.

Light.

Not blue like the scroll had said it would be, but a dark purple ball of light surrounded by what seemed like red lightning. It almost reminded Naruto of an egg, but as he got closer it got larger and larger. By the time he was only a few feet from it, the egg looked to be the size of the Hokage Tower. As he slowly reached a hand towards the crackling red outline, Naruto noticed that his hand and arm were bleached of colour, like the negative of a picture.

All thoughts of whatever it had been that brought him here were gone from Naruto's mind, all his focus was on the light as his hand slowly inched towards it. He let out a slight gasp as his palm hit the light and it turned out to be solid, with the texture of ice cold glass.

Naruto pushed against it slightly and was surprised to find that while it still felt as solid as glass, it gave slightly under the pressure of his hand, almost like it was rubber. Pushing a little more, Naruto soon found the limit and frowned before trying to use both hands. It gave a little more until there was an indent about as deep as his elbows, before it pushed back and Naruto was thrown away slightly.

He tried again, only to be pushed back again as a deep frown grew on his lips and he started pounding against the light with very little success.

" _Your knife…use your kunai…_ "

Spinning around in fear, Naruto strained his eyes looking out into the darkness, trying to find what had spoken. The voice had sounded odd, like dry leaves in the wind and had sent a shiver down his spine. But no matter how hard he looked there was nothing, no movement just darkness stretching out as far as his eyes could see.

Slowly turning back to the egg, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out the kunai. How he still had it when he was in his mind Naruto didn't know, but at the moment he really didn't care.

Licking his lips Naruto pushed the tip into the surface of the egg, feeling as it resisted slightly before cutting through. Smiling as he started using the kunai to cut a line through the light until it was almost as tall as him, before quickly putting the kunai back in his pocket. Not giving himself time to over think what he was out to do, Naruto pushed himself through the hole he had just made in the egg and plunged headfirst into the light.

For a moment Naruto was overcome with a feeling off absolute peace, warmth flooded his body and for the first time it didn't make him uncomfortable. All the aches in his body he had grown used to for as long as he could remember were being soothed away, all pain and sadness gone…

…only to be replaced by new pain.

It hit like a hammer, slamming into his body and knocking the wind out of him. Burning, he was burning from the inside. He could feel as the fire burned its way through…something, like veins inside his body that he had never known about and didn't carry blood. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his fingers dug into his body trying to get the fire out.

Naruto was burning for a few seconds, before finally his mind could take no more and he simply blacked out.

 **( - )**

When Naruto woke up he knew he was back in his body in the real world, mostly because of the feel of the cold stone under him. He pulled in deep, wheezing breaths as he used his hands to push himself up into a sitting position. His body ached more than he could ever remember it doing, and although the fire was no longer raging through him he could still feeling something moving around in its place.

When he finally opened his eyes the world was spinning, or maybe it was just his head. He couldn't think very clearly yet, the memory of the pain running through his now numb body was clouding his thoughts.

Yet at the same time he was aware of everything around him, the sweat dripping off his skin and hitting the rock underneath him.

The wind pushing its way through the trees and their leaves, whistling as it passed his ears. He could…feel, every living thing in the forest around him. He could feel the birds in the trees, the deer moving as a group not a hundred metres from where he was. Naruto could feel every insect in the grass and under the ground, he knew the exact number of every ant in three different colonies in the clearing around him and could feel as they worked tirelessly. A beehive hanging on a tree to his right, thousands of bees flying in and out in a constant stream.

It was all just so much.

Slowly Naruto started to calm down, pull himself together to the point that he could think somewhat clearly again.

If he stayed out too long one of his sisters might decide to check on him, and if they found out that he wasn't there they would go straight to their parents who would probably form a whole search party to find him.

That was the last thing he needed.

Slowly getting to his feet on legs that felt like water under his weight, Naruto was about to start making his way home when he noticed something odd. There was a smell in the air a delicious one at that, looking around he tried to find the source of the scent, his mouth beginning to water slightly. Finding the source his eyes locked onto the dead body of the hawk he had killed earlier, as his eyes locked onto the corpse he found himself slowly approaching the bird. At first he had trouble focusing on it, his eyes blurring slightly, but the more he tried to see it clearly the clearer it became. He could see a faint outline shimmering around the corpse of the bird, the outline was in blue an somehow he knew that that meant it was dead. Even as he watched an orb of light begin to force itself out of the body of the hawk, the orb of light slowly beginning to hover above the corpse.

Unknown to Naruto was the fact that his eyes were adjusting to the point they could see the life in things, his irises had turned a crimson red colour and his sclera had turned a dark black colour. When added to his usually thin and pale appearance, it gave him a distinctly unnerving look.

For about a minute Naruto had just stared at the ball, transfixed by the pale light it gave off, even as it shined in his eyes, unaware of the changes he had begun to undertake, or even that he had been slowly walking towards it.

Then Naruto was suddenly struck with a craving, his mouth dry as he licked his lips. He didn't know what this thing was, if it was dangerous or some kind of Jutsu he had never heard of, but there was one thing he did know. The pale blue egg made out of light was the most delicious thing he had ever seen, and he wanted nothing more than to eat it whole.

Slowly reaching out towards it, Naruto wrapped his hands around the orb and pulled it towards him.

As he brought it closer to him he began to giggle in delirious happiness, .

Bringing it up Naruto opened his mouth as wide as he could, not realising his mouth had opened to twice what should have been possible, and shoved the egg in. For a moment Naruto feared he was going to choke as he tried to swallow the orb of light, the orb however seemed to get stuck in his throat, but then he felt it moving and when it passed his windpipe the young blonde took in a deep breath.

Then he felt it.

The moment the orb hit his stomach, Naruto felt his chakra increase ever so slightly, a cold sensation spreading through his body as it seemed to dissipate inside him and add to his reserves. He felt as the new pathways he had just opened pulsed, and couldn't help the pleased sigh that escaped his throat, this was the first time in his life that Naruto's body didn't hurt.

He had done it, he had unlocked his chakra. Now his family would finally see that he wasn't weak, and that they would have to train him just like his sisters. He could be a ninja just like his father and protect the village.

Licking his lips Naruto opened his eyes to reveal that they had returned to normal, turning in the direction of his home he started walking towards it a slight skip in his step as he headed home.

By the time he had gotten home the adrenaline rush from activating his chakra had worn off, and the moment he reached his bed Naruto collapsed onto it and was asleep within moments of his head hitting the pillow.

 **( - )**

The next day Naruto was woken up by the sound of someone banging on his door and calling his name over and over again, and though it took a moment for his mind to fully wake up he easily recognised the voice of his sister Erza and let out a groan.

He didn't hate his sisters or anything, though they weren't as close as they had once been. When they were younger he did everything with them, hell he would go to them if he had a nightmare in the night instead of his parents. But then they had started training and he was left out, and their parents refused to even consider letting him join them in the training.

That had been about a year ago and since then he had become…distant from both Erza and Mito. Not that either of his sisters actually noticed, no they were unsurprisingly too busy training to actually realise he was being left out of things.

It wasn't fair that they were being trained while he was being treated like glass, and even though they tried to spend time with him they were usually too busy with something to do with training. But that was going to change now that he had unlocked his chakra, I mean now he had access to his chakra he could train with them. Then there was the fact he wanted to ask his parents what that weird orb thing he had swallowed last night had been. Though he had to say that the fact that he had done something so stupid as to unlock his chakra like that by himself did actually scare him looking back at it.

His back clicking as he got out of bed still dressed in the clothes he had worn last night, Naruto moved to the door and opened it. He was a little surprised to see that not only was Erza standing on the other side but Mito was there as well, both of them smiling at him.

Mito was the first to step forward and pull Naruto into a hug, though the blonde was annoyed when he noticed that she was being overly gentle with him. Still treating him like he was made of glass…

"Happy Birthday Naruto!" The two girls chorused as they smiled down at him.

It took a moment for the words to sink into his head, though he did notice Erza taking Mito's place and hugging him as well.

"…Birthday?" Naruto asked a frown of confusion on his face as he looked at the girls in front of him.

Both girls frowned at him, Erza stepping back from the hug so she was once again next to Mito, placing her hands on her hips as she did so, doing it in a way Naruto had seen their mother do.

"Really Naruto, you should get out of your room more often if you don't even know it's our birthday." Erza said a disapproving look on her face as she looked down at Naruto.

"If I had a reason to leave my room more often maybe I would…" Naruto said somewhat uncomfortably as he his eyes shifted between the two similar looking girls.

His comment was met with uncomfortable silence, both girls suddenly looking…guilty? Maybe they weren't as clueless as Naruto had first thought, they at least realised what he was hinting at.

But as quick as it came the moment was gone and Mito was bouncing on the balls of her feet and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of his room and towards the stairs as she did so, a large smile on her face as she uncermoniously dragged him downstairs.

"Come on Naruto get your arse into gear, mum and dad are waiting for us downstairs. Don't forget we still have to get everything ready for our party, everyone is coming." Mito said excitedly as she continued to pull Naruto after her, Erza running after them a look of disapproval once again on her face as she saw how giddily Mito was acting.

Naruto's face darkened slightly at the mention of the party, not that either of his sisters seemed to notice as he whispered under his breath.

"You mean your party…" Naruto said bitterly.

 **( - )**

Throughout the day Naruto had tried to talk to either his mother or father with little successes, at least beyond them saying happy birthday. When they weren't telling him to eat to help keep his strength up, they were moving around the house setting up everything for when the clan heads and their children arrived for the party.

Since they were young the clan heirs and the Namikaze triplets had been forced to interact with each other, their parents trying to ensure they would all get along when they were older and running the village themselves. Naruto was sure the fact at least all of the main clans had children the same age was not a coincidence.

However out of all of the other clan heirs the only one there age that Naruto ever actually got along with was Shikamaru, and even then, they only ever really played shogi together, and even then they did not play it that much. Shikamaru was currently winning their little competition at twenty-four wins to Naruto's seventeen, but according to the lazy boy he was the only person outside his clan that had ever actually beaten him, so that was probably good.

He did however get along well with Itachi, the oldest of the Uchiha children. While they didn't speak often the few times they did Naruto enjoyed his company, and the older teen was probably the only person that didn't treat him like he was completely made out of glass.

His brother Sasuke on the other hand was a whinny little mummies boy, that followed his brother around like a shadow. Unfortunately he was also one of Erza and Mito's friends, so he was around more often than not.

Naruto was still trying to talk to either both or even one of his parents when the party started, and it was all but hopeless then because they were too busy talking and socialising with the other adults. Naruto just found a quiet corner of the room to sit in and watch as his family moved around the room, laughing and talking to everyone.

No one seemed to even notice him other than Shikamaru sending him a nod with his usual bored expression on his face, though he thought he saw his sisters sending him odd looks out of the corner of their eyes.

"Happy Birthday Naruto." A calm and stoic voice spoke out from behind Naruto.

Slowly turning to look at the person that had walked over to him while he had his eyes closed, Naruto let a small smile cross his lips when he saw the ever stoic Itachi taking moving over and taking the seat next to him.

"Hey Itachi…thanks I guess." Naruto replied softly his eyes still scanning the party going on around him. It was strange really, here he was sat in middle of a party that was being thrown for him, but yet he felt like a stranger.

The two quiet boys sat in silence for a few minutes after that, both simply watching the other people in the room until the older teen finally decided to speak again.

"I see you found that scroll I recommended, I can sense the chakra flowing through you now. It is odd though as something about your chakra, it feels and looks odd, unnatural almost." Itachi said a speculative look on his face as he looked at Naruto.

Looking at the teen out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto wasn't surprised to see his eyes flashing red with his Sharingan as the older boy stared at him.

It was true Itachi had told him which scroll he needed to find to unlock his chakra, not that anyone other than the two of them knew this fact. While everyone else saw him as nothing but a weak sick little boy, Itachi said he saw Naruto's potential and that he wanted to help ensure that he could actually reach said potential. He told Naruto what scrolls to read, recommended different training methods that he would be able to do until his body was stronger and even showed him the proper way to throw the kunai he stole.

Making sure not to look like they were doing more than exchanging pleasantries after seeing his mother glancing in their direction, Naruto not answer verbally or immediately, instead he gave Itachi a small nod.

"I was able to sneak out last night and unlock it, though it wasn't exactly like the scroll said it did push me in the right direction." Naruto finally replied to Itachi an inquisitive look on his face as he once again tore his gaze away from the party, instead turning it onto Itachi.

"Good." Itachi said simply.

It was then that Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a fist sized scroll, placing it on the younger blondes lap as he did so.

"Your Birthday present, your room looked a little bare the last time I saw it and I thought you might like something to put on the wall…" Itachi said his voice as calm and toneless as usual.

Raising an eyebrow at the teen's words, Naruto unrolled the scroll to see the kanji for the words 'Underneath the Underneath'. It was a popular saying in Konoha to look underneath the underneath to find the truth, and was actually one of his own favourite sayings. There was a little string on the top so it could be hung up, and Naruto was sure Itachi had written it himself.

However it was what was on the back of the paper that really caught his attention, a small smirk crept onto his lips as he saw what was on it, before he forcibly pushed down his smile. On the back of the scroll there was a storage seal, small enough that it would go unnoticed unless you were looking for it and set out so that it would be completely invisible when he hung it up.

Naruto already knew that his real present was sealed inside it, most likely so his parent or sisters didn't find it and try and take it off him. That was probably why Itachi had asked about him unlocking his chakra, he wanted to make sure Naruto would be able to open it later when no one was watching.

"Thank you, I think you might be right and my room could do with a little personality." Naruto said the smile once again coming to his face as he did so.

The only response he received in reply was a nod from the older boy, before Itachi stood up silently and walked off without a word, not even looking back at Naruto as he did so.

 **( - )**

The next hour or so was mostly the same as the first one was for Naruto after Itachi left, though his sisters and a few of the other clan heirs had come over at one point or another to engage him in conversation. They did not stick around for long though.

Naruto was not really that surprised, he did after all know that he made the others uncomfortable, they didn't know how to act around him and were often worried about offending his sisters or even his parents by saying the wrong thing. His usual sickly appearance had that effect on a lot of people, both kids his own age and the adults. He was the son of two powerful ninja one of which was the Hokage himself, and with him being so weak and looking so sickly it just didn't fit in with their idea of what a son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki should look like.

Even his Godfather Jiraiya acted weird around him, if not outside tried to ignore him. The pervert would spend most of the time during his visits either talking with his father and sisters, or perving on his mother only to get his arse kicked.

Even now Naruto saw the man's face was swollen after probably getting a beating either from his mother or some other other woman, who had no doubt punched him for making a comment about their bodies. It did not seem to effect him as he was still smiling and talking to people as if nothing was wrong even as he started turning purple from the bruises that formed.

Naruto was about ready to head up when the sound of a glass ringing reached his ears and he turned to see his dad in the middle of the room, his mum stood next to him with a large smile as everyone turned to look at them.

"Attention everyone, I have an announcement! Erza, Mito could you come over here for a moment?" Minato said a large smile on his face as he gestured for his daughters to join him.

Naruto watched with narrowed eyes as his sisters moved to stand in front of their dad, getting up from his seat and moving closer so he could see, as the crowd started to block his view. He went mostly unnoticed though even as he watched his dad kneel down in front of his sisters while there mother continued to look on with a proud expression on her face, and when he saw it Naruto felt a hollow feeling begin to form in his stomach.

"Now after talking it over with your mum, and seeing how much work you have been putting into your training we both agreed you are ready. So first thing tomorrow, I am going to start teaching you both the Rasengan! Happy Birthday girls!" Minato said a happy expression on his face as he saw the joy on his daughters faces.

The room soon burst into cheers as Mito and Erza both started grinning and ran over and hugged Minato, Kushina soon bending down and turning it into a group hug.

Naruto felt the hollow in his stomach get worse, the feeling spreading and his heart beginning to beat faster and faster, the room beginning to spinning around him as it did so. He saw Itachi watching him while leaning against the wall to his left with his usual blank expression, his eyes flashing red for a moment as if waiting to see what Naruto was going to do.

When the room finally did stop spinning around Naruto could only feel numbness for a moment, the feeling spreading throughout his whole body momentarily, only for it to be rapidly replaced by a cold rage.

Naruto went to step forward only for someone to grab his arm and hold him in place, and he wasn't overly surprised to see it was Shikamaru. The usually lazy boy was giving him a worried look while his hand gripped his arm in an iron grip, shaking his head slightly as his eyes moved from Naruto to his family as they pulled away from the hug.

"It's not going to change anything Naruto, just let it go…" Shikamaru said his tone serious as he continued to hold Naruto back.

For moment Naruto thought about listening to his friend's words, the rational part of his mind telling him Shikamaru was right and that kicking off right now in the middle of the party, would not change a thing. But the other part of his mind, the part that was consumed by his anger was louder.

Jerking his arm from Shikamaru's grip, Naruto turned his glare on the boy and snarled slightly. However what he didn't know was that as he glared, his sclera started to bleed to black and his irises started to blaze a deadly crimson red. The young Nara's eye's widened in shock and he backed away in slight fear, but in the time it took him to blink Naruto's eyes were back to normal and he was moving towards his family.

It wasn't until he was stood right in front of them that Kushina noticed him, by which point he had set his face into a blank expression. For a moment he saw her eyes widen at him, like she suddenly realised he was there before they moved to the others then back to him. He saw the flash of guilt in her eyes, but it was only there for a moment before they seemed to harden with resolve.

"Naruto dear..." Kushina began her voice quiet as she reached her hand out to him.

Naruto however didn't give her the chance to make an excuse.

"Are you going to lie to me again and claim the Rasengan is part of their training to help control the fox's chakra?" Naruto asked his voice harsh, though not overly loud as he was aware that he did not want to draw to much attention to what was happening.

His words though despite being spoken quietly did manage to get around the room, those who were standing closest to the group turning so they could watch the ongoing drama. Not that it really bothered Naruto though as he could see it was making both his mother and now his father uncomfortable quite uncomfortably.

"Naruto please, we can talk about this later…" Kushina said her voice still quiet as she looked around her nervously.

"NO!" Naruto said his voice rising slightly as he did so.

Now everyone's attention was on him, including his wide eyed sisters.

"You always say we'll talk later, or that you need to focus on Erza and Mito's training because of that bloody fox! I've had enough or your lies! I've had enough…just tell me the truth. You were never going to train me, were you…?" Naruto said beyond caring as he vented the anger he had been building up all these years.

Silence, heavy and thick silence settled throughout the whole room as Naruto's voice carried across the room. Naruto could see the adults sending each other looks…yet no one seemed surprised to hear his allegations against his parents.

Finally after what seemed like forever Minato stepped forward, standing between Naruto and the rest of their family and sending Naruto a sad look as he sighed. Naruto could also see Jiraiya moving to stand next to his father, his face stern but mostly blank.

"Your right Naruto…we never intended to train you. But you have to understand why, understand that your condition makes it too dangerous. Your body is too-." Minato began to say crouching down slightly so he could talk to his son on his level.

"Weak! That's what you think isn't it, that I'm weak." Naruto sad his ire increasing as he gave into his childish fit of anger, which was not surprising really as he was actually a child.

The words seemed to hit his family like a physical blow, making his father Minato flinch while Kushina, Erza and Mito looked away from him. Finally it was Jiraiya who snapped, stepping forward and starring at Naruto with an impassive face that made the young blonde's body tense.

"That's exactly why kid, you are weak. Your body is not strong enough to go through the strain of Shinobi training, you can barely carry yourself from day to day. It's time you saw the truth Naruto…you will _never_ be a ninja…" Jiraiya said tired of all beating around the bush, it was time someone told the boy the truth, it was the best thing for everyone involved.

Naruto had started taking steps back the more Jiraiya spoke, his words ringing in his head over and over. The tears he had been holding for so long finally started to escape his eyes and stream down his face as people backed away from him, no one seeming to be able to look him in the eye as he ran from the room.

 **( - )**

 **AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know there has not been a huge amount of changes to the original chapter. There will be changes coming though as I begin to add in my own spin on things.**

 **Also although I have a number of ideas if my own I am more than happy to hear other people's thoughts and ideas as I want to make this story as good as I can.**

 **The update schedule on this is like all my stories intermittent, sometimes it will be updated three or four times a month and sometimes it may not be updated for a couple of weeks.**

 **So yes I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you all drop a review or comment.**

 **See you all later.**

 **Seagate.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So here it is the next chapter of a Dead Man Walking, there are some slightly more significant changes in this chapter which you will need to be on the look out for. As some of them maybe small but all of them have been done for a reason and will become significant.**

 **Also I have had some really cool ideas of what I want to do with this story and where I want to take it. So it is likely going to be quite a long story. Also I got asked a question about parings, to that I will say I have not really got one in mind yet.**

 **So anyway I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

 **I was also asked about whether or not this will be anything like the first version of this story, I will say that there will be similarities, but it will be closer to the second version for the first part before veering away into something entirely new and unexpected.**

 **Disclaimer : As always I do not own Naruto, also the original writer of this story was Jinx777 who allowed me to continue it.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Weak! That's what you think isn't it, that I'm weak." Naruto sad his ire increasing as he gave into his childish fit of anger, which was not surprising really as he was actually a child._

 _The words seemed to hit his family like a physical blow, making his father Minato flinch while Kushina, Erza and Mito looked away from him. Finally it was Jiraiya who snapped, stepping forward and starring at Naruto with an impassive face that made the young blonde's body tense._

 _"That's exactly why kid, you are weak. Your body is not strong enough to go through the strain of Shinobi training, you can barely carry yourself from day to day. It's time you saw the truth Naruto…you will_ _never_ _be a ninja…" Jiraiya said tired of all beating around the bush, it was time someone told the boy the truth, it was the best thing for everyone involved._

 _Naruto had started taking steps back the more Jiraiya spoke, his words ringing in his head over and over. The tears he had been holding for so long finally started to escape his eyes and stream down his face as people backed away from him, no one seeming to be able to look him in the eye as he ran from the room._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 2- Hard Facts**

 **( - )**

 **(With Kushina)**

For a moment Kushina could do nothing but stand frozen as her precious son Naruto ran out of the room. As she watched him leave, tears trailing down his face, she didn't know what she was supposed to do.

For the last few years Jiraiya had been warning them about not being straight with Naruto, quite firm in the belief that giving him false hope was many times crueler then just being honest with him. But how were you supposed to tell your child that they would never be able to live their dream, and that he was through no fault of his own too weak to do what every other member of his family did.

Despite everything that had happened with the Kyuubi, the day the triplets were born had been the best day of her life, it had been the day she had become a mother. Not even that damn Fox getting lose could ruin that, no matter what other people might think.

Unfortunately though her happiness couldn't last long.

It had taken about a week for them to notice something was…wrong, wrong with Naruto. He fed the same if not more than his sisters, yet despite his healthy appetite he didn't seem to gain any weight. His baby fat had been melting away more and more with each passing day, and his cries of discomfort never seemed to stop.

It got so bad that they had to call in the doctors, and when the medical professionals did their tests what they found broke both Minato's and her own hearts. Two years, three if they were lucky. That was how long the doctors had given him to live, and even then that was only with her baby boy living in the hospital with an IV hooked into his tiny arm, the feed constantly trying to give him the nutrients his own body just wasn't able to process.

When he had been in the hospital the both of them had visited him every day, Kushina practically moving into the hospital with the girls for those three years. If not for his duty Minato would have been there with her, but they had made do with him making time to visit at least once a day.

Kushina had watched every day as her baby seemed to wither away more and more, getting thinner and weaker everyday that passed. He had been so small lying in that hospital bed, he had been fragile…like glass.

Yeas those first few years had definitely been a hard.

Then the day came that the doctors told her that despite the all the odds, Naruto had lived passed what the doctors had called his 'danger age'. The worst was behind them and even though he would never be completely healthy, she could actually take him home again for the first time in years.

That should have been the start of something better, they were finally a real family again.

But Mito and Erza needed training, training to help prepare them for dealing with the Fox. Erza had shown straight away that she had the Uzumaki Bloodline one that she Kushina also possessed, Solid Chakra, and over the years Erza had demonstrated an understanding and a skill in it that Kushina herself had never had.

Kushina could use it to make her chains with a blade on the end, and had even learned how to use them to suppress the chakra of anyone or anything she had caught in them. But Erza had taken the skill one step further, her little girl seemed to be able to make almost anything with them, including actual _armour_ of all things.

Then there was little Mito her other daughter who while born without the Uzumaki Bloodline, was slowly turning into a very adapt Sensory Type Shinobi. As where Erza found her passion in Kenjutsu, Mito instead found hers in Fuinjutsu. Like her father she was fascinated by Seals of all kinds, learning them, studying them and taking them apart to see how they worked. That coupled with her growing skill in Taijutsu told Kushina that she would be a very strong Kunoichi one day, in fact both her girls would.

Naruto though… sometimes there were days he couldn't walk down the stairs without getting winded. Just the thought him even holding a kunai terrified her, let alone actually training with one. But when he had seen his sisters training he wanted to join them, Kushina had seen it in his face. Naruto wanted to be a ninja, her sickly little boy…

Both Kushina and Minato knew that if he ever tried to unlock his chakra his weak little body might just break from the strain, let alone try and use it. So they instead tried to buy themselves time, explaining how they couldn't train as instead they needed to focus on getting his sisters ready because of the Fox. They just wanted to wait until he was older and more mature, maybe then he would be able to understand that he just couldn't be a Shinobi.

But Jiraiya was right, even though she was angry enough to kill him at the moment Kushina knew he was right. Keeping on lying to Naruto like this was wrong, so maybe telling him the truth might be kinder in the long run.

He had warned them from day one that to give Naruto false hope wasn't a kindness, and that he did not agree with what they were doing. He had even offered to try and help Naruto unlock his chakra, saying that it might actually help strengthen his body if it didn't kill him. But Kushina didn't want to take the risk, and had put her foot down.

That was why Jiraiya had always kept his distance from Naruto, the man was unwilling to lie to him but at the same time he knew it wasn't his place to go against the both of them, as they were his parents. Kushina also knew that if Naruto had ever asked him, the old pervert would have been more than happy to train him, and so he had tried to distance himself to avoid it.

However none of it changed anything right now, not after seeing her son running out of the room in tears with a heartbroken expression on his face.

Turning a glare on the legendary Shinobi, Kushina waited until she saw him flinch and look away in shame before running after her son. As she left Kushina could hear Minato apologising to the guests, before saying the party was over.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

By the time he had reached his room Naruto's tears had given way to numbness, his face falling into an expressionless mask as he sat on his bed. His head was still ringing with Jiraiya's words, echoing over and over again. _'You will never be a ninja, you will never be a ninja, you will never be a ninja.'_

But the fact was all it had done was validate everything Naruto had already known, that his family thought he was weak. That they had been lying to him for years, and that they never actually intended to train him like Mito and Erza, never.

Squinting slightly as he felt his eyes burn Naruto shook his head thinking he was going to start crying again, not realising that the pupils in his eyes kept bleeding out before receding again.

Naruto found himself absentmindedly palming the kunai that was still in his pocket, running a finger along the edge and making a mental note that it needed sharpening. He was actually about to take it out when he felt someone's chakra from downstairs brake off from the rest and start up the stairs, the sound of their footsteps soon reaching his ears. If he had more experience Naruto might have been able to tell how it was from chakra alone, but for now all he could do was tell that whoever they were they had a lot of chakra.

He didn't have to wait long however, because a moment later there was a soft knock on the door before it was opened slightly, and the face of his mother could be seen through the opening. Naruto hadn't turned the light on when he had entered, making the light from the hallway cut through the darkness of his room only to end at his feet and leave the rest of his body in shadows.

But while his face was hidden Naruto could clearly see the concerned face of his mother, her eyes somehow finding his own in the dark even though she would be unable to actually see them.

She made no move for the moment to enter his room, standing in the doorway and trying to squint as her hand reached for the light switch. Only to let out a sigh when she did and nothing happened, Naruto having removed the light bulb several days ago.

"Naruto dear, we need to talk about this." Kushina said softly as she saw the shadow cloaked figure of her son sat on his bed in the dark room.

Naruto didn't answer straight away, trying to get his voice under control so it didn't break and show even more weakness then she expected from him.

"What exactly is there to talk about? You both have been lying to me for years. Constantly making promises you never intended to keep, giving me false hope. You think I'm too weak to even unlock my chakra don't you…" Naruto said his voice as hollow as his gaze at he finally looked his mother in the eyes.

He watched as she flinched at each accusation as if they were physical blows, tears gathering in her eyes. But at this moment in time Naruto just couldn't bring himself to care, as much as he loved his family they had lied to him and that had truly hurt him.

Seeming to give up on the light Kushina walked into the room and sat on the bed next to him, and though she still couldn't see more than his outline Naruto could still see her perfectly in the darkness, he could see her just as clearly as if it was day.

"Naruto…we should have been straight with you when you first asked us for training, both your father and I knew from the start that we shouldn't have promised to train you. I am so sorry, we never should have lied to you. But we just couldn't…we thought if we waited until you were older it would be easier to explain things then." Kushina said quietly as she sat next to her son.

She made to rest her hand on his shoulder in comfort, but pulled back when he flinched away from her touch as if it were poison. Pulling her hand back a crushed look on her face, she instead lay her hand in her lap and looked down.

"You have to understand Naruto, with your condition it is too dangerous for you to train. I spent hours talking about this with your father and even a few Medic-nin, we even considered training you in Genjutsu at first. But simply unlocking your chakra could kill you, your body is just not strong enough for the added strain."

Naruto did understand, and though hearing that unlocking his chakra could have killed him all her words did was make him angry. After all hadn't he unlocked his chakra the day before? Sure it had been painful at first but nothing he couldn't handle.

Clenching his hands on his knees as his eyes started burning again, Naruto somehow managed to ground out his words without resorting to shouting.

"But you never even tried…never are. How do you know that it would kill me, maybe it would help with my condition. Did you ever even consider that?" Naruto said in anger as glared at his mother, finally giving into his anger.

Another flinch, followed by a deep sigh.

"We did and everyone we talked to agreed that _if_ unlocking your chakra didn't kill you, it might help your condition. But it wasn't a risk we were willing to take, not when it could cost you your life." Kushina said in a pained voice as she tried to explain such a difficult topic to her ten year old son.

"Why was it your decision to make? If it's my life it should be up to me, not you or anyone else. If you had just believed in me I wouldn't have had to do-" Naruto began the anger not leaving him, if anything it grew in him like a ball of molten rock.

"No!"

This time it was Naruto's turn to flinch, the hard expression suddenly appeared on his mother's face stopping the words in his throat.

"Naruto no matter what you think of us at the moment, your father and I have every right to make that decision. If it's a choice between your life or your ability to use chakra there is not, and there never will be a choice. You might not understand it right now, but we could never risk losing you…not again!"

This time when Kushina reached out to him Naruto didn't move away, and was quickly pulled into a firm hug while she stroked the back of his head soothingly. They stayed like that for several minutes, neither saying anything as Naruto allowed himself to take comfort in the familiar embrace.

When they finally did separate again Naruto saw his mother had tears in her eyes, but that she also had a small smile on her lips.

"It's getting late and a lot of things have happened today, I'll let you get some rest and your birthday presents will still be downstairs tomorrow when you wake up. If we need to, we can talk more about this in the morning, but we will not change our mind on this Naruto. Unlocking your chakra is not worth risking your life over."

Naruto stayed silent as Kushina slowly stood up and left, closing the door behind her. He listened as she stood outside his door for a moment, before letting out a sigh that was muffled by the door and walking back downstairs.

Letting out a sigh of his own, Naruto lay down on his bed still clothed with one arm over his eyes as he finally let sleep take him.

 **( - )**

The next morning Naruto was set to tell his family that he had unlocked his chakra, and while he knew they would be angry with him, he knew it would all be ok in the end. He had proven he wasn't as weak as they thought he was, and now they would have no choice but to train him along with both Mito and Erza.

Unfortunately while they were all sat eating dinner, both his mother and father were called for an emergency Council meeting, and had to leave before he had a chance to tell them. They had left with Kushina promising they would talk after the meeting was over, but Naruto knew from experience that these meetings could take hours.

Mito had quickly taken over the table after breakfast to work on her Seals, writing the same ones over and over again until she got it perfect before trying to do it faster. Erza had relocated herself to the training room to practice her Kenjutsu, muttering to herself about needing to work on her spear wielding skills.

With nothing else to do Naruto had decided to look through the presents he had gotten last night, but had left before opening to upset with the whole situation to stay downstairs.

Shikamaru had given him several new chess sets, each styled to look like ninja from each of the Five Great Hidden villages. Choji and his family had given him a cookbook, with hundreds of different recipes. He had even gotten a Bonsai tree from Ino and her father, along with the equipment he would need to care for it.

There were several other presents from the different clans along the same lines, all of them unsurprisingly avoiding being anything to do with Shinobi training unlike what had been given to his sisters. He did end up with a decent amount of money through, which he was sure would be useful, it wasn't surprising really there was not a whole lot known about it, so it would no doubt be difficult to buy presents for him.

When he had come to a small bundle wrapped in paper with pictures of toads on it, Naruto had debated for several minutes on just throwing it away before putting it down and ignoring it.

Then he came to the presents from his family. Mito had given him a notebook filled with blank pages of high grade paper, with Erza giving him a set of charcoal pencils for drawing. Somehow he thought it might be a cooperative gift between the two of them.

His parents had given him a framed picture of all of them together in a group, a perfect family, all them smiling at the camera. It had Naruto standing in the middle with Erza on his right and Mito on his left, both hugging his arms to themselves, huddling his smaller frame between them. His mother and father were knelt behind them, Minato with his arm around his wife's waist and Kushina giving the peace sign, a large grin on her face as she looked into the camera.

Naruto remembered it being taken a week before they had started training his sisters, back when they were one big happy family.

Letting out a sigh after seeing the picture Naruto got up and decided to go for a walk to clear his head, knowing his parents wouldn't be home for another few hours at the least.

He didn't bother telling either of his sisters he was going out, planning on being back before they really noticed. He also didn't want to risk one or both of them insisting they come with him, which especially after his outburst last night he knew had no doubt they would do.

Using the same method as when he left to unlock his chakra, Naruto made his way over to the loose board in the fence and into the forest without any particular destination in mind. Just wandering letting his feet take him where they may.

Yet after about half an hour of just walking and using his newly discovered Sensory ability to feel the different things around him, Naruto somehow ended up back in the same clearing he had unlocked his chakra in before. The body of the hawk he had killed was gone, though judging by the trail of blood and feathers Naruto guessed a fox must had found it and taken it back to its den.

After looking around the clearing for a moment he gave a small shrug before walking over and sitting on the rock that was stuck up slight, protruding from ground in the middle of the clearing.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he had been sat there, simply listening to the wind blowing through the leaves and feeling the thousands of tiny chakra signatures of the insects crawling around in the grass below him. However because of how focused he was Naruto didn't even realise as the world around him was slowly slipping away.

 **"** **Well I must admit this is a nice surprise, I wasn't excepting to see you again for another few years.** **"** A soft sibilant voice spoke up, breaking Naruto out of his meditative trance.

Naruto's eyes shot open at the sound of the voice, only to widen in shock at what he saw.

He was stood on what seemed to be a stone wall acting as the border between two landscapes, both of them as different as night and day…literally.

On the landscape to his right it looked like the forest that surrounded Konoha, covered in tall lush trees and bathed in bright sunlight and in the distance there was what looked like a lake. Everything looked alive and healthy, and the air was filled with the scents of nature and even though he couldn't see any actual animals, it still felt like being in the middle of a peaceful forest. The sky was mostly clear, with the odd clouds slowly floating by in the clear blue sky.

The land on his left was the complete polar opposite however, it seemed to have been bleached of all colour. The earth was barren and was covered in dry sand, that was as white as bone and swirled around in the air pushed about by the slight wind. Just like on the other side there were trees, but unlike the other side they were as dry and white as the sand and looked dead, there shriveled branches looking like they were clawing angrily at the sky. There were also several rocky outcrops bunched together there shadows seeming to be stretching further then should be possible, the stones themselves were black as night. And unlike its counterpart on the other side of the wall, there was absolutely no life at all.

The wall Naruto was stood on was as probably as tall as the Hokage Mountain and looked almost three hundred foot wide, and made from a dull grey stone.

However the thing that shocked Naruto even more was the fact that above his head there was a giant grey orb, very similar to the one he had eaten from the bird, only with a purple centre that seemed to act as the sun for both sides of the world.

 **"** **Not what you were expecting I imagine, just take your time and absorb it all. After all it's not easy to see your own soul in physical form.** **"** The soft voice continued echoing slightly.

Naruto quickly turned around, looking for where the voice had came from, his eyes widening even further in shock as he found its source, Naruto taking a step back in fear as he did so.

Standing on the wall not ten feet away, was a boy the same age as him. But Naruto couldn't understand what he was seeing, because the boy looked like he could be his long lost twin.

He had the same face as Naruto, he even had the same whisker marks, but unlike Naruto though his short spiky hair was pure white and his skin had a greyish tinge to it. Sticking out of the top of his head were a pair of four inch long horns the same colour as his skin, and unlike Naruto he was wearing a large baggy black shirt and a pair of black shorts, on his feet he wore nothing at all. He also had a knife without a guard, the handle wrapped in bandages tucked into the belt at his waist, as he stood before Naruto he had his hand resting on the handle.

But the thing that really took Naruto back though were the eyes of the lookalike in front of him.

Instead of white sclera were dark black, with dark veins spreading out onto the skin around his eyes like spider webs. Then there were the iris, two burning red eyes that stood out making him look absolutely terrifying.

Naruto watched as his mouth opened, revealing his sharp pearly white teeth and a long dark tongue as he chuckled slightly at Naruto's reaction.

 **"** **You're not going to piss yourself are you? Because if you do I am not cleaning it up.** **"** The voice said mockingly.

The teasing tone was easy to hear, but what was more unnerving was that it was said in Naruto's own voice, and that surprise was enough to give Naruto a little of his courage back.

"W-who the hell are you?" Naruto said in a slightly shaky voice as he stared at the boy opposite in surprise.

The boy just gave another chuckle and moved over to stand next to Naruto, before turning and looking out over the dark landscape, his hand still on his blade.

 **"** **Relax I'm not going to hurt you, not even sure I can to be honest. After all, we are technically brothers.** **"** The boy said not looking at Naruto as he continued to stare out at the dark landscape.

Frowning at the boys words as he stared at his back, taking note that he had exactly the same slight build as Naruto himself had, Naruto took a deep breath to steel himself before he moved so he standing next to the terrifying looking boy.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked calming down slightly now the boy was no longer looking at him with those terrifying unnerving predator like eyes of his.

Naruto watched as the boy licked his lips, a habit he knew he himself had.

 **"Well now you see that is quite an interesting question, as not even I am entirely sure of just who I am. Am I you a stronger more powerful version of you? Or am I something else entirely that has just taken your form? It really is quite the quandary as in a way I am you, I know everything you know and I feel everything you feel. But yet, I also know so much more than you know, and have experience beyond what you have experienced."** Voice continued curiously, the voice becoming more and more like Naruto's own soft spoken tone as he spoke..

"Ermm what?" Naruto asked his face scrunched up in confusion as he tried to dissect the boy's words.

" **I don't know; just call me You I suppose."** The boy spoke up again, the intimidating aura he first gave off fading the more he spoke.

"Wait so I should call you Naruto?"

" **Know just call me You."**

"So call you Me?"

" **No You."**

"Naruto?"

" **Are we really going to go this…?"** The mysterious boy said his soft silky voice holding a note of amusement.

"It is kind of fun." Naruto replied a smile on his face as he argued with himself, he was to tell anyone in Konoha about this they would no doubt think him mad. Though after his outburst last night, that may not surprise them, it was as he thought that that Naruto's good mood came crashing down.

 **"Yeah, you have been having a pretty shit time of it recently haven't you?"** The voice said crudely, the statement made all the strange by how calmly it was spoken. It was not really that surprising that the boy knew of Naruto's thought, he had said it himself after all, he knew everything Naruto knew and yet so much more.

"So where are we then?" Naruto replied uncomfortably, the boy quickly changing the topic of the conversation, not quite ready or willing to talk it all out yet.

 **"** ** **Hmm, well I would have thought that was obvious, I mean we are obviously not in Konoha and you are talking to yourself."**** **You replied blandly, only to frown slightly as he saw the confusion still on Naruto's face, letting out a sigh he decided to answer properly this time.** ** **"We're in your mindscape, a physical representation of your mind and soul.**** **"**

"But…then why are you here? Why are we here?"

As he heard this question the smile finally slipped from the now identified You's face, his lips slipping into a hard line as his eyes hardened slightly.

 **"** ** **Until nine years ago I didn't exist, what I was before that even I don't know. What I do know though is that I came into being on the same day you did, but unlike you I was not born into the natural world, I was born in you. From what I have been able to theorize I owe my existence to whatever your father Minato Namikaze did on the day the Kyuubi attacked. I gained form at the same time the Kyuubi was sealed into your sisters, and the form I gained was yours, what I was before that I don't know. But from what little I do know there was another being present on the night your father sealed the Kyuubi into your sisters. To defeat the beast your father used the Death Reaper Seal, a technique that was designed by the Uzumaki Clan centuries ago. It was a seal that was supposed to summon the form of the Shinigami into being, now if things had gone as they should your father would have had his own soul taken as collateral for sealing away the Kyuubi. But yet he didn't,**** **"** You said a frown on his face as he spoke. This was all just theories he had put together from the fractured knowledge he was born into being in possession of. Whether his theory was right or wrong, the boy did not know at this stage.

It was then that You rolled his eyes and turned to face Naruto, before letting out a sigh.

 **"** ** **This is all of course just a conclusion I have come to based off of my knowledge and memories, but I believe that I was never meant to be self-aware or even exist, I think that when the Shinigami was summoned that night, something unexpected happen, something which led to me being created. I believe something was different about the seal he used, and that somehow a fragment of Death's power was split off from the source, and instead of dispersing it clung to the closest available host, you. This led to the creation of me, a piece of foreign energy that gained sentience and was given life. It is a strange thought isn't it that from death there came life. Which I guess means you could say that I'm like a Tailed Beasts, a sentient mass of chakra, single piece torn from the whole. Which by the way would technically make you my Jinchuuriki**** **"**

Hearing that explanation Naruto couldn't help but frown, it sounded bizarre, but thinking on it more he began to think that the boy may be right. After all had he not devoured what he had come to believe was a soul just the other night, and also wasn't the art of Fuinjutsu very finicky, a single line even a millimetre out of place could drastic change the end result, and wouldn't his father have been in a hurry when he was drawing the seal he used to defeat the Kyuubi. That being said though he was making a very strong effort to put the whole Jinchuuriki of Death thing aside for the moment, he could freak out about that later. He had other things he wanted to find out first.

"So you're really the Shinigami? You're not exactly what I was expecting…" Naruto trailed off, deciding to embrace the explanation You had given him, after all it was the only one he had heard, and the boy seemed sincere in his belief.

This comment seemed to snap You out of his contemplative mood, a small smirk appearing on his face instead as he let out a slight chuckle.

 **"Well technically if I am right, which I believe I am, then I am just a fragment of the Shinigami, and am a whole other being entirely now, thanks in part to you Naruto.** ** **"**** **You said a grin on his face as he saw the frown of confusion on Naruto's face.** ** **"Besides, I am probably more similar to you then the Shinigami, I did after all grow up experiencing the same things as you did, only I had other memories on top of that... oh and I was also better looking."****

"We look pretty much exactly the same."

" **True, true, except I have badass white hair and cool eyes."** As You said this Naruto once again looked at the boy's eyes, barely stopping himself from shivering as the two ominous red and black orbs looked at him. They were the eyes of a predator, an apex one at that.

" **The white hair makes you look like an old man.** " Naruto managed to get out as he tore his gaze away from his counterparts eyes, Naruto finally giving into his childish side, he had only just turned ten after all.

 **"You're just jealous."** You replied a calm expression on his face as he did so.

They were able to hold straight faces for all of five seconds before both burst out laughing at the same time, the situation so…odd that it was hilarious. By the time they had calmed down Naruto had completely forgotten his fear of You, and was using his shoulder to hold himself up and keep his balance.

It was then that something Naruto had heard his parents telling Mito and Erza came to him, something important about Jinchuuriki

"Wait, if I'm technically a Jinchuuriki then why am I always sick. I thought Jinchuuriki didn't get sick…" Naruto asked a frown on his face as he took a step away, his eyes taking in how his counterparts body looked just as frail and gaunt as his own,

 **"** ** **Because you're not actually sick, at least not in the way everyone thinks.**** **"** You replied confidently, knowing that what he said now was absolute fact.

"B-but the doctors-"

 **"** ** **Naruto I am not normal, I don't eat human food and because of the way the Seal that sucked me into you works we are one, just as I took on your form and characteristics so too did you take on some of my traits. Your body needs a mix of human food and, what you humans call Souls. Like that thing you found floating above the hawk. Chakra is life energy, and when something or someone dies it forms into a mass invisible to the normal eye. When you were a baby, your parents realised something was wrong, and you were diagnosed with that genetic disorder thing. The doctors didn't know about me so they came to the only conclusion they could. It's all bullshit of course, you just needed to unlock our chakra so you could see the Souls and eat them. That's why I helped you find it last time you were here.**** **"**

"So the more Souls I eat the healthier I get?"

 **"** ** **Basically yes, and just like in nature your body and abilities have adapted in order to help you survive."****

You turned to look out over the side of the wall filled with life. Just as Naruto turned he saw the first sign of animal life, a hawk braking cover from the tops of the trees before diving back down and out of sight again.

 **"** ** **Look familiar? It should. Your mindscape is the afterlife for the Souls you eat and imprisons them here, their energy feeding both of us while they continue to live on. That is why it's split in half, the light is the Pure world and the dark is the Impure world. That hawk we just saw was the one you saw when you unlocked your chakra. But animals don't have the same awareness as a human, meaning they cannot be good or evil unlike humans who are responsible for their actions.**** **"**

Naruto found himself silently listening as You continued to speak, ideally watching as the hawk reappeared only to disappear again several times.

 **"** ** **I can see the life of the Souls when they come, when you eat a human Soul it is me who processes them. The wall is the border between the two lands, a barrier that only we can cross. To put it more simply you are the 'outer Naruto' whilst I am the 'inner Naruto' together we are one. Unlike the Jinchuuriki though we are a symbiotic life form, we cannot survive without working together, and if one of us dies the other will quickly follow. As for all my claims**** ** **I am not the true Shinigami, I am not immortal nor do I have absolute control over death."**** **You said as he looked his counterpart in the eye willing him to understand what he was saying, what he knew himself to be absolute fact.**

 **Nodding his head as Naruto once again met You's gaze, this time easily resisting the need to flinch. As he did so Naruto knew what You said was true, he didn't know why and so would never be able to explain it, but deep down he knew.**

Seeming to have finished his explanation, You turned away from Naruto and once again looked out at the scenery as the blonde did the same.

 **"** ** **Naruto…you need to leave the Hidden Leaf.**** **"**

Naruto could actually feel his mind stop, all thoughts hitting an invisible wall as his eyes widened.

"W-what? But why?"

Letting out a sigh You walked over to the edge of the wall facing what Naruto now knew to be called 'Pure world', sitting on the edge and fingering the hilt of his knife.

 **"** ** **Naruto do you know what Jinchuuriki are used for, besides containing Tailed Beasts?**** **"** You finally spoke up, still looking over the peaceful forests and glades that made up the 'Pure world'.

Naruto could only shake his head in the negative as he slowly moved to sit beside You, the white haired boy letting out another sigh. Turning to face Naruto, You gave him a conflicted look, they might be the same age, but You unlike Naruto had fragments of memories and knowledge far beyond his counterpart. This made him more world wearied, more experienced then Naruto, who in You's eyes was still so young and naive.

 **"** ** **They are weapons Naruto, used both as a deterrent and when necessary tools of war. Your status as the son of the Hokage is enough to protect your sisters and maybe even you from the worst of it, but the fact is you are one of a kind even among other Jinchuuriki. There has never been a Jinchuuriki for anything other than the Tailed Beasts, let alone one with the abilities you possess. You are unique and have the potential to be very powerful, and even in the Leaf there are people that would try and use you for their own gain.**** **"**

"But my family-"

 **"** ** **Would probably fight and die to protect you, at first, but the fact is they also have the interests of the Village to look out for. Why do you think it is so important for Mito and Erza to learn to control the Nine Tail's chakra, not suppress it? Whilst it is in their best interests anyway it is also in the interest of the village to have them strong.**** **And more than that Naruto, in the eyes of many you would be an abomination, a being who needs to feast on the souls of others to survive. I doubt even our family could do much against the backlash and fear that that knowledge if it got out would cause. But that is working of the fact that they themselves wouldn't fear us, we are unnatural Naruto, and a fact of the world is that people fear that which is alien to them."**

Naruto found himself unable to look at You at this point, his eyes slowly becoming hollow as he thought of how his family would react. A part of them hoped that they would accept him, but that part was overshadowed by the fear that they wouldn't, Naruto had after all seen the reactions some of the villagers of Konoha had when they thought that people weren't looking. The civilians, they looked at his sisters with fear, and in some cases hate, and those two were the prized children of the beloved Hokage. Naruto he was the black sheep of the family, already his presence unnerved people, that discomfort would be made a thousand times worse if people found out the truth. And in Naruto's young mind, his parents who had already proven themselves untrustworthy by lying to him, they too might turn on him if they found out the truth.

When he did look up again the fear of abandonment and isolation on his face, he felt You lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning to the boy he say a kind and understanding look on his face.

 **"** ** **Naruto I am not telling you this to hurt you, and if you want to stay in the village I will never say anything about this again. But you needed to hear this. People have been looking for a way to control or avoid death since man first understood the concept, you are a five course meal placed in front of a starving pack of wolves. At the moment they don't know you are there, but when they do they will fight each other and eat you alive. And nothing and no one will be able to protect us, not even ourselves, not unless we get stronger.**** **"**

Tears began to fall now, and the grip on his shoulder tightened slightly as his shoulder started to shake with suppressed sobs.

"I-I understand…we have to leave, it is not safe for us here anymore, a-and I don't know if mum or dad would support us. I- I just can't trust them anymore. "

 **"** ** **Then we need to go Naruto, carve our own path in this world. Become so powerful that we will never have to rely on others to protect ourselves.**** **"** You said fiercely watching as a fire seemed to start to burn in Naruto, a slight smile on his face as he did so.

Deep down Naruto knew You was right, and as he stood there in one that wall between light and dark he made his decision. He would become strong, he would become powerful and never again will he have to feel as weak and powerless as he did now.

 **( - )**

 **AN: Okay so I know some of you may have found bits of this chapter a bit weird, let me just assure you it will all make sense in the end. Also for those of you thinking Naruto is acting wimpy do bare in mind that he has only just turned ten and has had all his trust in parents ripped away from him in a rather brutal fashion. Which for a child no matter what age is pretty shocking.**

 **A point of reference to is that in this story children join the academy at the age of ten, where they are given three years of experience before graduating. Why? Because when I was watch Naruto I noticed that the only techniques any of them knew were the three basic ones and there clan ones. And there is no way it would take more than three years to learn those three, and all the theory etc. and even then three years is quite generous.**

 **Also the name I have picked for the remnant of death in Naruto, I did choose the name 'You' for a reason. As the way I see it death is not an actual being in Naruto it is a force of nature, which can be called to take a corporeal form but doesn't have any personality or real existence. It is more omnipresent. Therefore You is a piece of that power that was accidentally sealed inside Naruto, who was a powerful Uzumaki baby who was in the stage of development, so You kind of unconsciously tagged along. So a better way of looking at it would be that You is the same as Naruto in the same way Yami was the same as Naruto in canon. So they are basically the same person sharing the same body and soul, but with different personalities and minds. It will all be explained as the story continues. I do have a pretty concrete plan worked out.**

 **Okay so next chapter should be out quickly, I have also got nine more all planned out after that one so there is a lot to look forward to. That is if you actually like what I am doing haha.**

 **Also for those who also read my Ten Tailed wolf story I have the chapter planned and have finally gotten around to starting the chapter so it will also hopefully be finished soon.**

 **So anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you leave a comment, any advise etc. would be welcome.**

 **See you next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So here is the next chapter as promised, I hope you all enjoy it, nothing much to say other than thanks for all the comments on the last chapter I enjoyed reading them.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"I-I understand…we have to leave, it is not safe for us here anymore, a-and I don't know if mum or dad would support us. I- I just can't trust them anymore. "_

 _ **"**_ ** _ **Then we need to go Naruto, carve our own path in this world. Become so powerful that we will never have to rely on others to protect ourselves.**_** _ **"**_ _You said fiercely watching as a fire seemed to start to burn in Naruto, a slight smile on his face as he did so._

 _Deep down Naruto knew You was right, and as he stood there in one that wall between light and dark he made his decision. He would become strong, he would become powerful and never again will he have to feel as weak and powerless as he did now._

 **Chapter 3- Runaway**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

In the end Naruto didn't tell his family about unlocking his chakra, nor did he even try to bring up anything to do with chakra or training for the next few weeks. In fact he went out of his way to be nice and quiet, even going so far as to sit outside in the shade and watch as Erza and Mito trained. His family seemed to think it was because of him finally accepting that he would never be a ninja and that he was making efforts to try and move on.

But he hadn't, so when no one was looking he had started to prepare, waiting for the perfect moment to run. He already had everything planned out, he knew how he was going get passed the Gate Guards and he knew where he was heading. All that he needed to do now was to wait for the right time to leave.

Naruto had just finished laying the things Itachi had given him for his birthday out on his bed, staring at them with hard eyes as he took the time to carefully examine each item. The Seal had actually hidden a lot more than he expected, and still had room for more things to be put inside it.

There was a thick grey and black coat with warm fur interior and an attached hood, and when Naruto put it on he found that it was a bit big for his gaunt frame, the coat ending just below his knees, with the sleeves stretching passed his hands and the hood covering everything but his mouth. It was warm and cosy, but more importantly it offered him some slight protection, and also could be used as half decent camouflage in a dark area.

There were also three scrolls, one which listed several simple chakra exercises and the other with contained the basics on how to write Seals. Naruto had looked through both, frowning at some of the Seal designs. The last was about the different Hand Signs and how they direct chakra through the body, with sketches of each Sign to show how it should be done.

Then there was the blade, a sheathed knife with a foot and a half blade and no guard with the handle wrapped in bandages making him think of the knife You had. It actually looked a lot like the sort of blade he had seen ANBU carry, normally hidden under their cloaks or on their backs. The sheath was grey and the blade itself was both shape and polished to a shine, which confused Naruto because ninja blades were never polished to the point where it might catch the light and alert the target.

A blank forehead protector attached to black cloth sat next the blade, something that was usually worn by Ninja that didn't have a village but weren't missing-nin. Ninja like that were very rare these days, though before the formation of the Hidden Villages they were almost all there was. If Naruto remembered correctly they were called 'Lone-nin', or 'Wandering-nin'.

There was also a compass that folded up into a small box that fit into a pocket on the cloak.

The last thing that had been inside the seal was a large piece of wood, where a note had been attached which was in Naruto's hands at the moment as he read it over again.

 **( - )**

 _True ninja start as a blank slate, carving and shaping themselves through training, constantly working on themselves over time until the mask they create is their true face. Carve your own mask, and prove them all wrong for ever doubting you. And remember fear can be as lethal a weapon as any blade; you just have to learn how to use it._

 _Give the world a reason to respect and fear you._

 _Itachi Uchiha_

 **( - )**

Putting the note down Naruto sat in his desk chair with his kunai and the piece of wood, which was already showing signs of being carved. Itachi had unknowing given Naruto everything he would need to not only get out of the village, but to also set him on the right path to surviving outside its protection too.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

 **( - )**

The next day Naruto told his family that he was going to go around to the Nara Compound to see his friend Shikamaru for a game of chess, and when Kushina offered to walk him there he quickly told her not to worry and that he would go straight there and back when he was done. However the moment he was sure that she had stopped following him from the rooftops Naruto changed his destination and made for his clearing, the scroll on chakra exercises tucked into his inside pocket.

After reading through the list of exercises Naruto had found two that he thought would be useful to know before he left, though he was aware that he would be lucky to be able to learn one. The first he was going to try was Tree Walking, which not only worked as a chakra exercises but was also a useful skill in general.

Deciding at the last moment to take his shoes off before starting, Naruto turned his attention to one of the trees and ran straight at it. Jumping as he got close Naruto aimed his body so he would hit it feet first, only for it not to stick, causing him to fall on his side.

"Crap!"

Rubbing his left arm where he landed on it, Naruto sent a glare at the tree before walking back to his starting point and running at the tree once again. This time Naruto put as much chakra into his feet as he could at the time, his feet actually beginning to glowing a faint grayish blue colour.

This time when he hit the tree Naruto didn't slip off, instead he was launched backwards across the clearing. Hitting the ground with his back and a loud thud, Naruto groaned as he stared at the sky for a moment and watched a cloud slowly fly over the clearing, letting out a sigh he pulled himself back up to his feet before trying again.

However when he looked at the tree Naruto was confused to see that instead of an indent in the wood where he was shot off, there was a black mark in the shape of his foot. Moving closer to get a better look, Naruto saw that the footprint was where the wood seemed to have died, leaving the rest of the tree health.

Well that was something?

 **( - )**

Naruto watched with narrowed eyes and arm out as the grayish blue mass of chakra moved around the clearing, taking the shape of a ethereal blue hawk for one second only for it to fade back into a formless mass the next. It circled around the edge of the trees two more times before landing on the rock next to him, once again taking the form of a hawk.

The bird itself had a…almost ghostly appearance, with the main feature being its glowing purple eyes that gave off the only other light in the otherwise pitch black room. Even while in a recognisable form the bird held no details, just a grayish blue mass of chakra with eyes. Every twitch caused its form to blur slightly, as if it was struggling to keep its form.

Naruto was sweating now, his arm shaking slightly as he tried to focus. He held it for another two minutes before letting out a gasp and his arm fell, the bird instantly losing its form as he did so.

When it did the mass of chakra loss all its form and streamed into his body, the chakra quickly being absorbed through his skin, sending a sudden new rush of energy through his body as it did. Letting out a sigh as he lay back on the rock, Naruto took his hoodie that he had set on the rock next to him and used it to wipe away the sweat on his face while frowning at seemingly nothing.

 **"Better…but still not enough…"** The soft voice of You said in his mind, the voice echoing slightly as it did so.

Jumping to his feet Naruto started slowly walking around clearing for a few minutes to stretch his legs, before sitting back down on the rock.

 **"Again…"** You said to him, a hint of amusement in the voice as Naruto let out a tired groan.

Naruto's hands flashed through the few Hand Seals he needed, even if they were slower than most genin would be able to, taking in a deep breath as he did.

 **"Soul Release: Spirit Summoning Jutsu."**

Letting out his breath, Naruto watched as once again the grayish blue chakra was released from his body and streamed into the air. It swirled in the air for a moment, before slowly lowering to the ground and moulding into the shape of a large ethereal rat, which like the hawk had glowing purple light for eyes.

He held the last Seal for a moment, letting it go and held his hand out towards the rat. As he did so the tips of his fingers flashing with chakra before it faded away. Naruto let out a sigh as he moved his hand and the rat followed it almost like a puppet on strings, shifting in and out of focus like the hawk had as he climbed up the rock and onto his knee where it sat staring at him with its blank purple eyes.

Naruto absently noted the cold patch slowly spreading across his skin around where the rat was sat, followed by the sensation of pins and needles.

This was the first Jutsu Naruto had made himself, with help of course. With the Scroll on Hand Signs and You he had been able to start creating his own style of Jutsu based off of the abilities that he got from being the 'Jinchuuriki of Death', the ability he was using a the moment was one which he had based off of the summoning Jutsu he had seen both Jiraiya and his father performing. It had taken time to figure out the correct sequence, and a few near misses but they were going in the right direction.

The Jutsu took the same amount of chakra to create the Spirit as Naruto gained from eating its Soul, and when it was released the chakra returned to him minus a little depending on how long it was summoned and what he had it doing. He had worked out from discussions with You and experimentation that the Souls he devoured acted similar to batteries, which meant that he could draw on the chakra that a Soul possessed and use it to bolster his own reserves, there was a side effect of this though as if he drew too much energy from a Soul it would not have the time to recharge and would therefore destabilise and disperse.

An issue with his newly made technique though, was that the sudden drop in chakra while not life threatening was exhausting, and even though when it returned it was like getting an adrenaline rush. The second issue was that at the moment it was very hard to control the Spirit after it formed, and if he didn't concentrate would just act like a normal animal and do its own thing.

The advantages of the technique though were however more than worth the effort to learn it, as well as the time he was putting into it.

Along with getting the chakra of the Souls he consumed, Naruto also got their most recent memories, it was limited though as the memories he absorbed could be anything from the last few days to the last few months. It was a little odd at first, and had given him more than a few headaches before he had gotten used to it. Then there was the fact that his Spirits had more in common with ghosts then he had expected, and were able to actually move through solid objects. It was useful skill to be sure but still very surprising when you see it for the first time.

Fortunately when it came to summoning the Souls as Spirits he was able to get all of the memories they gather whilst on the mortal plain when they were released. Unfortunately though he was still having a problem with making them solid enough to actually attack, because at the moment they just passed through everything they touched. But despite this it was definitely turning into a very useful Jutsu, already he was thinking of ways it can be used for scouting.

This time Naruto let the Spirit go before he started to strain, the chakra floating back into his body once more.

 **( - )**

As it turned out, Naruto's chance to escape came sooner than he had been expecting. Barely four weeks after his tenth birthday were his parents once again called to another Council meeting. And just like last time they once again left him with his sisters. He waited about an hour after they left before he claimed that he was tired and so was going to 'bed' early, neither Mito nor Erza thinking to argue or question him. Sometimes being seen as weak and frail was useful.

Once he was in his room Naruto worked quickly, gathering everything he was taking with him and packing it all into a small bag, with everything important sealed into the Sealing Scroll Itachi had given him for his birthday. He then put the black coat on; making sure it was zipped up before climbing out his window. He then used the drainpipe to climb down, before running to his usual exit behind the bush at the back of the families training ground.

By this time the sun had just started to set, making the shadows longer and giving him more than enough cover as he carefully made his way through the village and in the direction of the North Gate. He had timed it perfectly, arriving just as the last few merchant caravans were lining up to leave before the gates were locked for the rest of the night.

Bracing himself in the shadow of one of the nearby buildings that lined the main road out of the village, Naruto started to count in his head.

' _1…2…3!'_

Jumping out of the shadows Naruto rapidly closed the distance between himself and the last caravan in the line, rolling as he hit the floor until he was face up looking at the underside of the caravan and at the slightly rusty metal frame.

He then used the first and only chakra exercise he had learned from the scroll Itachi had given him, channeling it to both his hands and feet so he was sticking to the underside of the now moving caravan and using the dark colour of his coat to blend into the shadows again.

Naruto tried to make himself as comfortable as he possibly could.

 **( - )**

 **(With Mito)**

Mito ignored the sweat dripping down her face, the feeling of her heart pumping faster than usual and the slight ache in her muscles. All her focus was on the punching bag in front of her, swinging back and forth as she continued to nail it with rapid strikes, the young girl trying to keep her breathing under control as she went through her training.

She could also hear Erza on the other side of the indoor training room, the sound of the spear in her hands cutting through the air over and over again. As she meticulously went through the different fighting forms that their mother had taught her when she was tutoring her in the art of Kenjutsu.

This was how Mito kept her mind off of all the other things going on in her life, a way to clear her mind so to speak. She knew Erza too had a similar method, though instead of a punching bag she would practice with her many different weapons over and over again until the muscle memory was firmly fixed into her body and mind.

She also knew that they were both trying to distract themselves from thinking about the same thing, their brother Naruto.

Mito could still fondly remember their brother when they were much younger, she could remember him coming to their room in the middle of the night and asking to stay with them because he had just had a nightmare. But that had been years ago, and it was the fact that it seemed so long ago that now gave those once happy memories a depressing aftertaste. Naruto had always been so small and fragile; he was more like a little brother then one who was the same age as them.

When their mother and father had started training them both, Mito and Erza had been so excited, so much so that they didn't even notice how Naruto had been left out, at least not until a few weeks later. By the time they did Naruto was already different, he didn't smile as much or ask for help, he also seemed more reclusive flinching away from any attempts to make physical contact with him. But sometimes Mito had seen how he had looked at them, a hurt look on his face on more than one occasion, and every time she had seen it, it had always felt like a knife in her chest.

But after the party things seemed to have changed for the better, as while he had still seemed sad Naruto had once again started smiling. He had even started coming outside to watch them train and had actually started talking to them again, making a real effort to communicate with the rest of the family. It wasn't the same as before they started training, but it was better than they had been for a long time, it almost seemed as if their family were once again on track to being happy and whole.

It was also a lie.

Mito could see it and she was sure Erza could to; the looks Naruto would send them when he thought no one was looking. The almost invisible way he was forcing smiles that just didn't reach his eyes, the tensing of his shoulders when they made physical contact. She had asked her mother about it, but Kushina had just said she would take care of it and that there was nothing to worry about.

But that just didn't seem right to Mito, why did Naruto have to be left out while they got to go to the Academy, now that they were ten they would be going full time to the Shinobi Academy for the next three years. Naruto though wasn't going to be joining them, why did he have to adjust in the first place?

Mito let out a loud grunt as she went into a flurry of punches, putting even more power into her strikes than she was before. Unfortunately though she couldn't keep it up for long, and within five minutes Mito was forced to stop as she leaned forward and panted, drawing in great lungfuls of air as sweat began to drip down her face.

When she got her breath back Mito glared at the punching bag as if it had done something to personally offend her, before giving it one more hit before she turned to see Erza in a similar state to her, with the spear her sister had been training with lying on the floor at her feet.

"Erza…we have to do something, this isn't right." Mito said still trying to catch her breath as she made eye contact with her sister.

Letting out a sigh Erza frowned slightly and gave a nod, before tiredly picking up the spear she had been using and returning it to its place on the wall.

"I know Mito, but what can we do. Mum and dad are right, Naruto is just too…delicate, and Shinobi training is pretty brutal, it might actually kill him!" She replied her tone firm as she echoed the words she had heard spoken between their parents when they discussing precisely this thing.

"We don't know that, maybe he could learn Genjutsu?" Mito said uncertainly as she tried to think of less intensive forms of Shinobi arts her brother could practice.

Erza seemed to think over this suggestion for a moment, before she shook her head with a frown.

"He'd need to unlock his chakra, and even that is risky with his body so weak."

Mito let out a small growl of frustration, hating it when Erza used logic against her like that.

But before she could think of another argument Kushina poked her head into the room and smiled at them, the smell of dinner drifting in through the now open door.

"Hey girls, dinner is almost ready. Have you seen your brother?" The older redhead asked, a smile on her face as she looked at the tired forms of her two daughters.

Erza spoke before Mito, drawing their mother's attention.

"He went to take a nap not long after you and dad left for that Council meeting."

Kushina just gave them another smile and left, but not before asking them to set the table for dinner, earning herself a groan from her two tired daughters as she left the room and went to wake up Naruto.

 **( - )**

 **(With Kushina)**

Kushina frowned when she opened the door to Naruto's room and found the window wide open, with there being no sign of her son in sight. Quickly closing the window Kushina gave another quick glance around the room before deciding to look somewhere else, closing the door behind her as she did so.

She went to the library but quickly saw no one had been inside since they had left for the council meeting, she then checked the girl's rooms but there was still no sign of him. Frowning Kushina gave up looking and decided to do it the easy way, forming a Hand Sign and using her Uzumaki inherited Sensory Ability to scan the house for Naruto's chakra signature. Knowing that even with his chakra locked she would be able to sense him, as while even not active all living things had at least a tiny amount of chakra, meaning she would be able to feel Naruto's chakra no matter where he was in the house.

At least she should have been able to, but after checking twice Kushina could still not feel anything within the house that could be Naruto. Starting to get worried, Kushina broke the Hand Sign and quickly made her way downstairs and into the living room, just as the girls finished setting the table for dinner.

"Hey Erza, are you sure Naruto didn't go out? Maybe to the Nara Clan Compound to visit his friend Shikamaru?" She asked a worried look on her face as she tried to think of where her son could have gotten too.

Her words got both girls attention, but their confused expressions only caused her worry to grow. Erza finally answered just as Minato walked into the room, a large family sized bowl of ramen in his hands with a ladle sticking out the top.

"No he defiantly said he was going to take a nap, right Mito?" She said lookin got her sister for confirmation.

"Yeah." Mito said a frown beginning to form on her own face.

Kushina's hands had started to shake and her skin began to pale, signs that Minato quickly recognised as he put the ramen down and moved to stand by her side.

"Kushina what's wrong? Where is Naruto?"

Kushina started to feel dizzy; her mouth becoming unbelievably dry as she somehow choked her next words out.

"I…I don't know…"

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Two hours of sticking to the underside of a merchant caravan along an uneven bumpy dirt road and a painful leg cramp later, Naruto was ready to make his next move. Being careful not to stop channeling his chakra and becoming unstuck, Naruto carefully pulled out one of his old shirts and tied one of the sleeves to the bottom of the caravan so it would trail along the floor.

After making sure it was tied tightly, Naruto finally stopped channelling his chakra and dropped to the ground before quickly rolling to the right and off the road and instead into a small ditch. Staying still for several minutes and listening as the caravan's slowly moved away without stopping, the blonde waited until he was sure that no one had seen him, before letting out a slight sigh of relief.

Licking his lips, Naruto stood up and stretched, trying to work the kinks in his body out, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the new compass Itachi had bought him.

Getting his baring Naruto nodded to himself before he turned so he was facing a south easterly direction before he started walking, leaving the road and heading in the direction of the where hopefully the closest port town would be, where he would be able to find a boat that could take him to his destination.

He stayed on the ground for the next hour, slowly walking through the trees and taking his time. At one point he was able to hit a rabbit he saw with his kunai, and after eating its Soul wrapped the body up to cook later. The sun had long set by this point, and the only thing lighting his way was the moon light that shone through the trees, casting ominous shadows across the landscape.

Once he was sure that there was no possible way for anyone passing by on the road to see or hear him, Naruto licked his lips and looked up into the trees before bending his knees and pouring chakra into both his legs and feet. With a small burst of chakra that left the grass he had been standing on brown and shrivelled Naruto shot up and into the trees, landing on a thick branch and grabbing the trunk of the tree he had landed on to keep his balance, he turned and looked back at where he had been stood with a frown,

All living things had chakra, even plants. But according to You his chakra held an imprint of death, and it was that imprint that effected the chakra of the living. It wasn't enough to kill people or even animals on its own, but plants and trees were an entirely different story.

Until he had better control his chakra would kill any plant life it came directly in contact with, which was the main reason had walked so far before starting to tree hop.

It was less noticeable then an actual trail of dead footprints.

Naruto's plan was to head to the east coast of the Land of Fire, where he would hopefully be able to take a boat to the Land of Whirlpools, his mother's homeland. The Hidden Whirlpool Village had long ago been destroyed in the second Great Shinobi War after a joint attack by the Hidden Villages of the Cloud, Mist and Rock , with the island having been abandoned ever since.

Finding a ship that would be able to take him there would certainly not be easy.

 **( - )**

 **(With Kushina)**

As Kushina ran through the wooded landscape of the Land of Fire, she made sure to keep her breathing, even as she followed behind Kakashi, who was in turn following his Nin-dog Summon, Pakkun and the rest of his Nin-dog pack. They had been following Naruto's scent all night after having found it leading out of the North gate, but now an hour later Kushina was getting worried. On either side of her were two ANBU, with another two trailing behind her at the back of the group, all of them scanning the surroundings as they looked for any sign of the only son of the Fourth Hokage.

If they followed the scent for any longer Kushina knew that it would not be much longer before they would hit the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice, and if they didn't catch up with the boy and who ever had take him before they hit the border, then they would lose him. Whoever took Naruto knew how to hide their own scent, but they seemed to have forgotten to or just couldn't do the same for Naruto as they had done for themselves. Oddly enough though, the kidnappers had been sticking to the road as they travelled, which to the trained Shinobi made no sense if they wanted to avoid being tracked.

Or maybe that was the point; maybe the perpetrators were trying to lead them in this direction so that those who followed would think it was a different village.

In the end though all Kushina could think about though was who took him, and why anyone would take Naruto in the first place.

Considering the direction they were going Kushina would suspect the Hidden Cloud Village, after all they had a history of trying to steal clan members from Konoha, and had not only attempted to steal the Hyuuga Heiress, but had even attempted to kidnap her when she was a child, luckily though on both occasions they were stopped by Minato and the specific perpetrators given swift justice. But with Naruto's illness he would be no use for trying to start a branch Uzumaki Clan in the Hidden Cloud, they would have taken one of the girls if not both if they had wanted to do that. The natural Uzumaki abilities, their unique chakra and bloodlines and their natural skill with Fuinjutsu, all of this combined with just how few members still lived made Kushina and her children very tempting targets for one of the more unscrupulous Hidden Villages.

Earth Country was also possibility, The Hidden Rock village hated Minato enough to take Naruto, and had always maintained the believe that Minato had a bloodline not believing that the man had given himself the name Namikaze when he left the academy. But if it was the Hidden Rock Village, then they were going in the wrong direction, and Kushina didn't even want to think what they would do to him if it was actually them.

But the truth was it could be any of the other Hidden villages, even their allies weren't above suspicion.

The closer they got to the boarder the more Kushina felt the tears building in her eyes try and escape, causing her to blink rapidly to try and stop them. Then it happened, Kakashi's pack came to an abrupt stop as if they had hit an invisible wall. They all came to a stop behind them, looking ahead in a vain attempt to see if they could spot some sign of Naruto or his captors.

Kushina was able to hold herself together for all of about five seconds before trying to run forward across the border, only for wooden beams to shoot out of the ground and wrap around her like snakes. Before she could move an inch her arms were held at her side and her feet forced together, there was even a beam around her neck to stop her head moving.

Kushina though didn't seem to care as she desperately thrashed around wildly for several minutes, before letting out a growl when she realised it was no use, and instead moved her eyes to glare at the dragon masked ANBU who had his hands held up forming a Sign.

"Let me go Tenzo!" Kushina spat out the venom in her voice making the other Shinobi around the shift around uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Lady Kushina, but I cannot allow you to cross the border without first asking the Daimyo for his permission first. The Land of Rice is currently allied with Earth Country making it hostile territory, entering without the consent could be taken as an act of war." The now named Tenzo said in a monotone voice as he continued to restrain the angry wife of his Hokage.

"I don't care! Let me go!"

As Kushina said that she began to thrash again, an action which caused a loud creaking noise, something which unnerved both Kakashi and the gathered ANBU when they realised that it was coming from the now cracking wood restraints.

Thinking quickly Kakashi ran over and spoke to Kushina, being careful to keep his distance just in case. The woman was known for her fiery temper after all, which when combined with her formidable skills as a Shinobi made her a quite frightening person.

"Lady Kushina please calm down and think! You can't help Naruto by starting the next Great Shinobi War. The trail has gone cold for now, what we need to do is to return to the Village and regroup with Minato. He can recall Lord Jiraiya and we can start searching again when we get a new trail, so please just stop." As Kakashi said this he bravely moved in front of Kushina blocking her way, arms held up as he tried to calm the raging mother.

She was still struggling slightly even after Kakashi finished talking, but now it seemed less fierce and more forced. The tears now streaming down her face were heart wrenching for all those that had the will to look at her face, and when Tenzo finally released her Kushina fell to her knees and sobbed. Her hear braking slight at the thought of her weak and frail son being taken out into the big and dangerous world by persons unknown.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto was confused when he saw the lights ahead of him, from having studied the maps in his families library before he left, he knew that he wasn't have supposed to of hit the coast for at least another two days. Frowning slightly he pulled out the map he had taken from the Clan Compound and lay it down on the branch he had just landed on, placing his compass next to it and trailing a finger along the route he had marked so far. Staring at the map he found nothing that could explain the lights, there shouldn't have been as much as a village or a even small settlement for Loggers and their families for miles. And if it there was then he was much further North than he had expected, which would mean he would need to change direction slightly to get back on track.

Putting the map away again Naruto debated walking into the village or simple going around it, he did not want to be seen, a young boy on his own would arouse suspicion after all, but at the same time if he was found trying to skirt around it without entering then that would raise even more suspicion. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts however by a sudden sound.

"AAAAHHHH!"

And just like that his decision was soon made for him when the sound of a clearly female scream reached his ears, followed by several others.

Quickly jumping closer Naruto came to a stop just inside the tree line of the small settlement. Only for his eyes to suddenly widen in horror at what he saw before him, the buildings that made up the settlement were all on fire. It seemed as though everyone that lived in the settlement was being herded into one place by a group of what Naruto could only assume were ninja, all dressed in black with hoods and masks so that only their eyes could be seen. The only thing that identified them in any way were the standard Shinobi headbands they were wearing, all which displayed what looked like a musical note.

The few not herding the loggers and their families were using Fire Jutsu to set the buildings on fire, the wood and straw quickly catching and spreading with ease, the flames roaring high into the air with large clouds of black smoke beginning to billow up into the air.

Naruto could only watch as people were pushed and kicked, even thrown in the case of several children not moving quick enough until they were all huddled on the ground with the Shinobi standing in a circle around them.

Looking at the group Naruto's keen eyes were able to count eleven of them in total, his eyes able to see through the dark like it was day, he was even able to pick up the a faint blue outline that surrounded each of the people in the clearing, the outline being stronger around the Shinobi.

It was at that moment that one of the ninja stepped forward and pulled his mask down, showing the smirk on his lips as he stared at the cowering people.

"Alright you pathetic little shits, I'm going to make this easy on you. Tell us where the boy is, tell us and we will let you live. We know he was in the area recently, we know he was here no more than a day ago. You know who I am talking about, and you know where he is. Tell us, and you live." The man said his voiced holding the arrogance that only those who have wielded power can possess.

Naruto had no idea who the boy the man was talking about, but from the looks of the people gathered in the clearing they did. However from the looks on their faces Naruto also knew that they didn't know where whoever these men were looking for was, a fact that was confirmed when a large man with arms like tree trunks slowly stood up and moved to stand between the Shinobi that was talking and the rest of his people.

"H-he was here, not a few hours ago. But we don't know where he is now, he was just passing through."

The leader didn't even spare the man a glance; instead he simply flicked his hand out and threw a kunai aimed right at the man's head. Naruto who against all logically reason had been preparing himself to to jump down and attempt to stop it, the muscles in his legs tightening as he crouched. However before his feet even left the branch something… odd happened.

The kunai stopped in mid-air, not an inch from the loggers face as the man fell onto his back with wide eyes, the man pushing himself away from the Shinobi in front of him as he did so.

"You know it's not nice to throw things at people's faces? Very rude…what would your mother think..." A teasing voice spoke out cutting through the crackling sound of the flaming buildings as it did so.

All eyes turned in the direction of the voice, the Shinobi tensing and pulling out kunai as they tried to pin point exactly where it came from. Naruto found it instantly feeling the chakra of the speaker and seeing the strong blue outline around their figure, locking his eyes onto the top of one of the burning buildings as he focused in on the source of the voice.

There stood even as the flames under his feet slowly crawled closer was… a boy. He looked a couple of years older than Naruto, probably in his early teens. He had dull grey hair that fell to just above his eyes, both of which were covered by a pair of round glasses that caught the light in such a way that it made them shine in the darkness of the night, the shine having a secondary effect of also hiding his eyes from sight. What was visible however was the largest grin Naruto had probably ever seen, that was spread across his face, it was so large it looked painful to Naruto, and clenched between the boy's teeth was an unlit cigarette. He was a little pale, but not overly so and Naruto could clearly see several scars running along his face with the stitches still being present in his skin.

His frame while not as skinny as Naruto's was still quite slim, he was wearing a grey and brown patchwork shirt which seemed to cling to his chest like it was a second skin. His pants were in a similar state, but probably not as skin tight. Then there was the odd white lab coat he wore over the top, the coat looked several sizes too big for the boy, with the sleeves falling well passed his hands and the bottom bunching slightly at his feet.

To finish off his strange appearance he also had for some reason or another a shovel strapped to his back, and narrowing his eyes slightly to focus in Naruto could see that fresh dirt still covered it.

Overall he made quite an unusual sight; to Naruto the boy looked quite deranged.

However as soon as Naruto finished taking in his appearance, he also noticed the boys outstretched arm with the sleeve pulled up so that his hand was visible. Said hand held with the fingers spread out wide, with the tips bent slightly. The hand was a pale white colour, and had scars covering it, and just like the ones on his face they were still had the stiches in.

It was while he was looking at the boy's hand that Naruto saw it, the light from the flames catching something and making it shine slightly in the dark night.

Wire…no it was too thin even for Ninja Wire. Whatever it was it was made up of hundreds of threads of string, each of which were shooting in every direction all over the burning settlement, the threads covering the area like a spider's web, and they all seemed to be connected to the boy's outstretched hand. It was almost like a spider's web, which would make the Shinobi the flies that were trapped in the middle of it, with no apparent way out.

The reason the Kunai had stopped in mid-air was that it had somehow gotten tangled in the strings, and was for some reason unable to cut through the wire, which would led Naruto to believe that whatever they were, they were strong than they looked.

Naruto saw the moment that the Shinobi notice the strings to, and the one that had been smirking before suddenly didn't look so confident now. It was like the look of a man who had wielded power temporarily, only to realize he wasn't the biggest fish in the sea.

The unnamed boy suddenly leapt from the very top of the burning building he was stood on, allowing himself to drop so he was instead sitting on the edge of the roof, the strings shifting with his movement.

"AAAHHH!"

And somehow that sudden movement had caused one of the Shinobi to lose his leg, while another of the Shinobi lost his hand and a third his head. It was quite a show to the watching Naruto, who with his enhanced vision was able to see the strings moving in the darkness, and how easily they seemed to cut through the flesh of the enemy Shinobi.

This left eight Shinobi who were still able to function at one hundred percent… all of which now looked very worried and very pissed off.

The same one that had been speaking before slowly turned to face the boy, getting a cut on his cheek for his trouble.

"You little shit! You know you will never get away with this! He will just send more, you will never escape!" The man shouted out, the arrogance that had been previously present fading to reveal a note of fear and anxiety in his voice.

In response to the man's threat the boy showed absolutely no sign of caring, instead all he did was lean back so his head was next to a flame, which with a slight tilt of his head he used to light his cigarette without taking it out of his mouth.

"You talk a lot don't you, I can fix that if you want. I always wondered what it would be like to remove someone's voice box, I know most go for the tongue but let's face it after so many years of it being the first choice it is kind of a bit boring." Was the boy's nonchalant response, a cloud of smoke leaving his mouth as he spoke, the whispy white smoke being swiftly overwhelmed by the great billowing black smoke that was coming off of the burning buildings.

Then with a twitch of his middle finger two more of the Shinobi fell, one losing his feet and falling into other and getting slice into pieces while the other was simply cut in half at his waist. The boy still showed no sign of caring, and the grin was still in place as he took a deep puff before leaning his head back and letting the smoke in a thick stream.

When he turned to face the man again he got a thoughtful expression on his face, the grin slipping for a moment as he took on a serious look and hummed to himself.

"You know, I actually think I have a better plan for you…"

A twitch of his index finger, this time only one being killed as the top of his head fell off.

"After all I could always use a few more parts…"

Another twitch, another two dead.

"And it's so hard to find volunteers…"

Twitch…and now only the Shinobi who had been speaking was left, looking like he was going to make a run for it any second now.

But before he could there was another twitch, only this time instead of cutting the man into pieces the strings wrapped around his body. They dug in deep leaving lines all over his skin, but didn't cut. The Shinobi was spluttering as he took in deep gasping breaths now, eyes wide in panic as he found he was unable to move an inch.

He was however able to speak.

"Damn you Frankenstein, damn you to HELL!"

The now named Frankenstein just tilted his head to the side and gave a small smile, uncaring for the man's curses.

"Where would be the fun in that?"

And with a final twitch the last Shinobi fell to pieces on the ground.

 **( - )**

 **AN: And boom there is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. And yes just like in the original Franken Stein has appeared, I have made him slightly older and will be adding bits and pieces to his character. But just like in the original he will be based off of the Franken Stein Character from Soul Eater, why because I this is one of the things that drew me to the story, I like the Soul Eater Anime but find many of the soul eater stories on the site tiresome. That being said the character is only based off of his Soul Eater counterpart, he will be different, he will also be Narutoverse compliant.**

 **Also I will head off some people's question about the scene they have just read. Yes Franken Stein did just defeat eleven shinobi with relative ease. There are some good reasons for that, for one the Shinobi he fought were grunt level Shinobi, one thing I noticed in the anime is that a large amount of the Shinobi are just mediocre grunts which usually get killed with ease by Clan Shinobi. A conclusion I have come to is that these Shinobi are non clan Shinobi, those born to civilians who haven't had years of selective breeding and specific training like the clans do which give them more chakra and better abilities than civilian born Shinobi. There are some exception to this rule where Shinobi born to civilians become powerful, powerful enough to go on and create their own clans, but in a brutal world like Elemental Nations these are in the minority. During the current time of peace though there are a lot more civilian Shinobi's who reach adulthood, some of these will grow jealous of their clan counterparts, and I could easily see Orochimaru taking advantage of these feelings and recruiting these people. This is why the majority of his Shinobi force is mediocre with their only being a few exceptions to this rule.**

 **I will say this now there will be two other OC's similar to Franken Stein in this story, each of whom will have a lot of character development, far more than most of the Konoha Twelve ever had in canon. I have some pretty cool ideas for the three main OC's in this story, but Naruto will remain without doubt the main character.**

 **Also if you look closely you will see a few mention in this chapter that will have a significant effect on canon, It was only a slight mention but the knock on effects could be significant and really interesting to write about.**

So anyway I will try and get the next chapter out soon, I am currently balancing my time between writing three chapters, these being the next chapters of; Ten Tailed Wolf, A Light in the Dark and Dead Man Walking. My Naruto/ Fairy Tail next chapter is in the planning stage as I am planning a mini arc before we get back to the necessary canonish events that I will be covering.

So yeah anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, also please review as I do like reading people's comments.

See you all soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** **Hey all it is me again with another chapter. I have to say the response has been really good to my last few chapters so I hope it is the same for this one. Also I received a rather amusing message about this story a few days ago, it was a PM from someone complaining about my spelling, which when I read it surprised me as I used spell checker several times and proof read. Now don't get me wrong I am more than aware that I will have missed something which is why I asked them to point out some of the mistakes. At which point they gave me a list of mistakes I kept making. These included me spelling colour this way instead of like this: 'color' and also centre like this instead of like: 'center' I have to say I did get amused by it, as the entire list was made up of English words that I spelled using UK English as I am British and not US English. I know it is a bit of a weird story but I just found the fact I was getting berated for spelling English like and Englishman quite funny. But anyway yeah I think you should be able to write words how you learned them.**

 **Ok so my weird story over and on to the chapter, I hope you all enjoy it, as always if you want to know or ask anything review or PM me, I am more likely to answer Pms faster though as I quite busy, but I always do make the effort to respond to as many review questions as I can.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto.**

 _ **(Last Time)**_

 _When he turned to face the man again he got a thoughtful expression on his face, the grin slipping for a moment as he took on a serious look and hummed to himself._

 _"You know, I actually think I have a better plan for you…"_

 _A twitch of his index finger, this time only one being killed as the top of his head fell off._

 _"After all I could always use a few more parts…"_

 _Another twitch, another two dead._

 _"And it's so hard to find volunteers…"_

 _Twitch…and now only the Shinobi who had been speaking was left, looking like he was going to make a run for it any second now._

 _But before he could there was another twitch, only this time instead of cutting the man into pieces the strings wrapped around his body. They dug in deep leaving lines all over his skin, but didn't cut. The Shinobi was spluttering as he took in deep gasping breaths now, eyes wide in panic as he found he was unable to move an inch._

 _He was however able to speak._

 _"Damn you Frankenstein, damn you to HELL!"_

 _The now named Frankenstein just tilted his head to the side and gave a small smile, uncaring for the man's curses._

 _"Where would be the fun in that?"_

 _ **And with a final twitch the last Shinobi fell to pieces on the ground.**_

 **Chapter 4 - The Grave Robber**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

As the enemy Shinobi fell to the floor the now named Frankenstein reeled in his strings, as he did so he showed that he had a strange arm brace on his wrists, it was odd looking as it had spools of string attached that Naruto didn't notice before. Looking around the burning settlement Naruto noticed that the loggers and their families were fleeing into the woods, using the distraction caused by Frankenstein to their advantage as they ran away. They didn't even look back as the odd boy in the lab coat waved them off with a large smile on his face. They seemed just as afraid of him as they were the Shinobi he had just killed, maybe even more.

Naruto stayed on his branch choosing to watch and wait, which paid off as the moment the last of the villagers were out of sight, Frankenstein jumped down from his perch on the burning roof and started whistling as he walked over to the dead and dismembered Shinobi. The boy was so casual about the whole thing that he even had his hands in his pockets as he whistled, showing nothing but carefree indifference to the massacre he had just caused.

However it was after looking at what was left of the Shinobi that Naruto saw them, all eleven of them floating about two feet off the ground. Souls, but unlike any he had seen before while feeding from the various animals that populated Konoham, animals that were not limited to birds, dogs, foxes and cats. Each of the soul's orbs were almost completely black except for a few blue spots here and there, and the glowing white centres of the orbs. Thinking back Naruto remembered what You had told him about Souls, he had said that the souls could go to one of two places, they could either go to the Pure world or the Impure world, depending on the purity of the soul. He had also said that a tainted soul would be obvious, as when a soul is revealed that the darkness cannot be hidden. This meant that these Shinobi must have been very bad to have such black Souls.

Naruto felt the saliva pooling in his mouth at the sight of them, his stomach giving a low growl. It took all his self-restraint to not just jump down there and devour them, so great was the urge that his grip on the tree branch he was perched on started leaving slight indents.

Naruto's eyes flashed from the souls to the other boy in the clearing, who as Naruto watched seemed to have started digging through the different body parts strewn across the clearing. Naruto pulled his bag off his back and dug around until he found his recently finished mask. He had at least finished carving and painting it, however he still planned to add a few Seals when he had understood and learnt enough not to have it blow up in his face, literally.

The mask was actually in two parts, one part covered the lower half of his face, while the other covered the top half. They were made to look alike a slightly demonic skull, with large teeth and sharp features, though whether it came across that way was debatable, after all he was only ten and was hardly an expert craftsman. The two parts were separated at the mouth so that he could open it, and curved so it covered the sides of his face; it stopped just at his hairline. Most of the mask was painted black, with the exception of two white lines going down the mask from the top to the bottom, cutting through each of the eyeholes. Overall it was quite a shoddy job, and definitely looked like it had been done by a child, fortunately though it did its job, it hid his identity.

When he placed the mask on his face Naruto used a bit of his chakra to keep it held in place, leaving only the blue of his eyes visible through the masks eyeholes. He then made sure his hood was up and covering his hair, after assuring himself that both his features and hair were covered he jumped down from his tree and slowly walking towards where the Souls were floating above the fallen Shinobi's bodies. His approach was almost like a predatory prowl as he kept low to the ground ready to bolt at any moment, as while the other boy in the clearing had his back turned to him, Naruto had just seen him dispatch a number of trained Shinobi, sure they were probably quite weak, but they were still probably stronger than Naruto currently was.

Being careful not to make a sound, Naruto slowly walked over to the first Soul and reached out for it, coating his hand in his unique chakra as he did so, so that he could grab it. You had told him that for the more powerful Soul he would need to use a small amount of his chakra to be able to make physical contact with it, the weaker animal souls he had dealt with so far had needed nothing more than the passive chakra he had running through his body for him to pick them up. You had told him that a more powerful a soul was the more likely it was to try and fight him if he went to take it, and therefore to better exert his control and will he should use chakra. His fingers had just brushed against the first soul orb when he felt something tapping his shoulder. Turning around his hand going for the sheathed knife at his hip Naruto was completely knocked off balance by what was said next.

"Hey you, which of these do you think look healthier?"

Startled Naruto jumped back turning and facing the boy talking to him his knife out and held in a guard position, not that it turned out to be really necessary. As the boy before him barely blinked at Naruto's actions, instead Naruto found two hands held in front of his face, each of which was holding some kind of organ.

How had he not felt him walking up behind him, he felt anything and everything that was alive, these were the thoughts that were running through Naruto's head as the boy in the lab coat continued to wave his organ filled hands in the blondes face.

Naruto instead of looking at the organs that were still dripping blood instead looked up at the person holding them, his eyes coming to rest on the smiling face of Frankenstein. The boy seemed to care very little for Naruto's sudden appearance, as he instead seemed more concerned with weighing the two organs in his hands.

It was also at this point that Naruto got his first clear view of the boy's eyes behind his glasses, which as he looked closely turned out to be a golden yellow colour.

"It's so hard to find healthy Kidneys you know? Usually they get poisoned with sake or rotten, no use at all. But these don't look too bad do they, no they look quite good actually, I think I will keep them for later. Lungs on the other hand, well you wouldn't believe how many of those I go through. I'm actually thinking of replacing the ones I'm using at the moment, there getting a little worn out." The boy said casually as he now looked away from Naruto and instead focused on the now identified kidneys in his hands.

Unable to think of anything to say to that statement, Naruto could only watch as the boy walked over to a growing pile of organs and placed the kidneys on top. He also saw another pile made up of limbs next to it, and a final pile which was made up of decapitated heads.

Swallowing his shock as he watched Frankenstein walk over to one of the other bodies in the clearing pulling a scalpel out of his sleeve as he did so, Naruto finally came back to his senses, standing up from his defensive crouch he instead gave the boy a confused look, his knife still in hand but no longer pointed at the boy.

"W-what are you doing?" Naruto said a bit shakily at first before pulling himself together as he overcame his shock.

"Recycling! I rarely get to pick through stuff this fresh, not an ounce of rot or a single worm…these lungs look good enough for now." Was the nonchalant response he received.

Naruto watched as with a hard tug, the clearly insane boy pulled out the lungs from one of the dead Shinobi's chests and held it up as he examined them a cheerful smile on his face all the while.

"…what?" Naruto asked blankly.

"Just one second."

Without another word Frankenstein stood up and took off his baggy lab coat, with his shirt soon following. Naruto could only stare at the multiple scars present on the boy's body, making the boys skin look more patchwork then his clothes. He also had a pair of bolts sticking out the sides of his neck. However when Frankenstein used the scalpel to cut the stitches along a particularly large scar across his chest, he revealed that it wasn't a scar at all.

It was an unhealed wound of some kind, and Naruto felt his legs give out from under him again when Frankenstein actually shoved his own hand inside the cut. He seemed to be moving it around randomly for about ten seconds, and in all that time all Naruto could think about was the lack of blood.

Finally the boy seemed to find what he was looking, before he did anything else though he looked back to Naruto with a bored expression on his face.

"If your squeamish you might want to look away, this is about to get very graphic very fast."

Before Naruto even had time to blink Frankenstein gave a sharp tug, and slowly pulled out his own lungs. The moment they were free of his chest the boy dropped them and quickly shoved the lungs he had taken from the dead Shinobi into his chest as a replacement, after that he quickly put the other hand in his chest too.

Then much to Naruto's growing shock, he started talking again, his voice now slightly wheezy.

"You know you never really notice how much you breathe until you don't have a pair of lungs, it's very uncomfortable."

Five minutes of fiddling around in his own chest, and suddenly he took a deep gasping breath. For that moment, Naruto saw him lose his casual attitude. Only for it to return a second later, along with his insane grin, which one again spread across his face.

"WOOO! Nothing like a new organ to get the heart pumping…wait…nope, that one's ok for now."

Giving a shake with his whole body, Frankenstein pulled the string from one of the spools attached to his bracer. It was at that point Naruto noticed several things he had not before. Such as the fact the bracer seemed to be _bolted_ onto the arm, the metal rivets driven right into the skin. Then there was the fact that at the end of each spool of string there was what looked like a sowing needle attached.

With practiced ease Frankenstein re-sowed his own chest back up, the gaping wound becoming just one of the many stitched wounds that covered his body, when he had finished Frankenstein used his scalpel to cut the thread leaving the wound fully stitched.

Naruto wanted to be sick, he really did. But it just wasn't coming up, and he was forced to put up with the turning in his stomach as the boy went back to sorting through the dead. However when he saw Frankenstein's attention land on the Soul he had been planning to eat, he quickly pulled himself together enough to stand and move over just as the grey haired boy started trying to poke it. It turned out when Naruto's chakra makes contact with a Soul it causes it to become fully visible to everyone, Naruto made a quick note of that as he tried to wave the other boy off from touching his prize.

He seemed to find the fact his finger passed through it very amusing, as he continued to poke it in vain.

"What the hell is this? Did you make this? It looks like a floating mass of chakra." Frankenstein said in delighted curiosity as his hand once again broke past Naruto's guard only for it to pass through the glowing orb.

Licking his lips being the teeth of his mask, Naruto made an effort to turn away from the Soul and instead to the clearly insane boy that he had just seen replace his own lungs.

"Who… _what_ the hell are you?" Naruto asked as he gave up on trying to stop the bigger boy from touching the Soul and instead tried to distract him.

Turning away with his finger still stuck in the Soul, Frankenstein seemed to get a slightly confused face for a moment before he seemed to realise something and slapped himself in the forehead as he turned to face Naruto completely. His attention now entirely on Naruto as oppose to the Soul orb.

"Of course, where are my manners? My name is Victor Frankenstein, at least that's the name I was given. Then again I guess all names are given by _someone_ …what was I talking about? Oh right, I remember now. I was named after my great, great, great, great, grandfather, who was some important guy back in the day or something. Though I am also known as The Grave Robber, on account of me…recycling, bodies. I mean burying them in the ground is just such a waste! You know I once found a perfectly good stomach _and_ spinal cord in the same grave! And they say I'm mad!" The boy said before throwing his head back and letting out a mad laugh.

As he heard Victor's introduction Naruto's eye started twitching behind his mask, an action he expected would be happening a lot over the next few hours. It didn't help that as he was talking Victor had offered him a hand to shake; only the hand wasn't actually his but instead was a part of a severed arm he had picked up.

Though he did wish they weren't still standing in a burning village surrounded by dead bodies, but the odd boy didn't seem to care at all. They spent the next hour talking as Victor sorted the different body parts into piles, going off on random tangents every now and then in the middle of talking about something else. With Naruto occasionally grabbing one of the Souls of the fallen Shinobi when the boy's back was turned, shoving it in his mouth quickly and ignoring the surge of energy he received and the number of flashing images. Taking note that he would have to go into his mindscape later and with You help look through whatever scraps of memory he had absorbed to see if there was anything useful.

It turned out that Victor was one of the last members of a clan, a clan who were all in hiding and had been for decades, they had apparently been very well know before the Hidden Villages were formed.  
The Clan had slowly started to die out after the formation of the Shinobi Villages, though that was mainly because no one had wanted them to join their village as they were being formed.

While rare there had been several Clans that either chose not to join any of the villages, or simply weren't allowed. The majority of these Clans had died out many years ago or dropped off the map altogether Clans such as these had been named 'Rogue-Clans'.

The Frankenstein Clan was a clan of Medical Ninja'a…of a sort. Victor's ancestor discovered a way to separate his chakra network from his physical body, while still being able to use both. This lead to what had been called 'The Living Corpse Jutsu', allowing them to become for lack of a better word zombies. As long as they had chakra they could live with almost any damage, though if they ran out before things were replaced they would die.

There was more too it then that and other related Jutsu that were developed by the Clan, but Naruto didn't ask for more details, he didn't really want to.

The Clan was technically speaking a Clan of immortals, they grew to maturity but when they did so they stopped getting older when they reached their peak. They did start to rot though the older they got, which meant that as long as they had constantly had chakra and regularly replaced their organs they could live indefinitely. They also had no sense of pain which was no doubt adapted by them to make the process of replacing their body parts easier, a fall back of their bloodline though were that they couldn't heal naturally.

However their inability to heal and the tendency to rot was counteracted by the ability to replace old and damaged body parts with what they 'recycled' from the dead, which was the main reason they were not welcome when the Hidden villages were being formed. During the time of the Clan Wars the Frankenstein Clan became infamous for their Medical skills and…questionable methods.

However after the Hidden villages had been formed and the Clan Wars ended, they had lost their…recyclable material. They were forced to start grave robbing for body parts, which only made others more uncomfortable around them. Things had gotten better during the Great Shinobi Wars, but each time there was peace their numbers had continued to lower to the point of near extinction.

Naruto found himself feeling…sorry for the older boy.

Almost his whole Clan was either dead or in hiding, and he was forced to scavenge from the dead just to survive.

Though it wasn't just the Frankenstein Clan that had been forced to become a Rogue Clan, Naruto remembered a book he had once read which had mentioned several. There were also several he knew that could be considered if not worse, on equal footing as the Frankenstein Clan when it came to…unsavoury Jutsu.

Then there were the Shinobi from before.

Naruto had heard his father talking about the newly formed Hidden Sound Village, though not much was known. It turned out that the self-proclaimed Otokage had taken an interest in the Frankenstein Clan and there inherited abilities, and had been sending teams to try and…invite Victor to the village.

Apparently they were all little more than cannon fodder and 'scrap parts, as Victor liked to call them.

It turned out that the string trap he had set up was actually not as impressive as it looked; those Shinobi had just been incompetent. All they had to do was charge their kunai with chakra and they would have been able to cut through the wires with ease and if they had any brains they wouldn't have walked into the trap in the first place, which had apparently taken the boy hours to set up after he had left a trail for them to follow to the village.

Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about Victor using the loggers and their families as a distraction, but at least he had stopped any of them from being killed. A few days out of Konoha and already he was finding out that the world was a much harsher place than he had ever imagined while living in the sheltered Uzumaki compound.

By the time Victor had finished talking about himself, the boy giving Naruto the feeling he was lonely which was why he was being so open so he could continue talking to Naruto, all of the piles of body parts had been sealed in separate scrolls, leaving nothing but the four remaining Souls floating in the air. Most of the houses had been mostly burnt down by this point, though the flames were still going strong from the collapsed timber.

Naruto didn't miss the fact that the four remaining Souls that he hadn't gotten around to eating yet looked smaller than before, and were starting to fade slightly.

"So I told you all the dirty details, now what your story?" Victor asked looking intently at Naruto now, no longer distracted by his macabre activities.

Licking his lips, Naruto paused for a moment to think about what exactly to say. He couldn't tell him the truth, the main reason he had left home in the first place was so people didn't find out what he was and what he could do.

Thinking quickly Naruto gave a small shrug before he walked over to the nearest Soul on of the few remaining ones that he hadn't been able to subtle consume when Victor's back was turned. Something that appeared to have been done in vain as there were still Souls present and he was still hungry.

"I gained a newly unlocked Bloodline, first in my family to ever possess it. Didn't like the idea of being turned into breeding stock or a weapon so I did a runner." Was Naruto's abrupt answer to the boy, as he chose to rely on half truths.

The Soul was cold to the touch and about the size of an apple now that it had shrunk.

"Really? So what's your thing? I met this guy from one Clan once that could turn his entire body into water, which was really cool." Victor said enthusiastically as he continued to watch Naruto intently looking for any indications of what this mysterious bloodline could be..

Turning back around to face Victor with the Soul still in his hand, Naruto smirked behind his mask at the surprised look on his face before lifting the Soul to his mouth.

This was the reason he made it so his mask was in two parts.

He hesitated for all of a second suddenly unsure if this was the right thing to do, to reveal his ability in the form of a bloodline so blatantly, but then the growling of his stomach decided it for him. Opening his mouth impossibly wide, Naruto put the Soul into his mouth at once and swallowed it whole.

Once again he felt the adrenaline rush like nothing he had ever felt before exploding inside his body, filling him with energy and washing away all the aches and pains after having tree jumped for so long. He felt his own chakra more than double, straining slightly at his core before it grew to accommodate the added chakra. Eating this Soul was just as intense of the other ones he had eaten; it was so different to the animal souls he had eaten before.

Rolling his head on his shoulders and making the joins click loudly, Naruto turned back to Victor with a smirk hidden behind his mask. Victor gave a low whistle, scratching his head with a small frown on his lips as he seemed to be trying to understand what had just happened.

However when Naruto moved on to the next Soul, making it visible as he grabbed it with his chakra he seemed to slowly start to understand when he looked at the bloodstains on the ground under the Soul.

"Are those what I think they are?"

Shrugging as he another of the remaining Souls, Naruto rubbed his jaw slightly to ease the ache that was starting before speaking as he grabbed the next.

"Depends…if you think they are the Souls of the Shinobi you just killed, then yes. I can not only see them after something dies, but my chakra allows me to touch them and when I eat one the chakra is added to my own. My body needs a mixed diet of both Souls and normal food to survive, which is why-" Naruto began, outline a very rough summary of his 'bloodline', it was only fair after all, Victor had told him his and so Naruto would reveal his own. Of course he wouldn't reveal everything; after all it is easier to get away with half truths than lies.

"You're so skinny. Let me guess, you didn't start seeing Souls until after you unlocked your chakra, meaning you were starving?"

Naruto had to give it to the boy, he was smarter then he looked…and acted…and sounded. He also seemed to be very indifferent to the fact that Naruto was eating human Souls, though Victor seemed to understand his silence and gave a shrug.

"Dude I'm a freaking Grave Robbing nut job, you eating Souls is not a big deal. Though I doubt you would have been used as breeding stock wherever you came from, because a skill like that is more suited to a Rogue Clan. You my friend as far as most people are concerned, are little more than a parasite that needs to 'feed' off of other people to survive. That's how most of us ended up becoming Rogue-Clans after the end of the Clan Wars. Just another Outcast, or as the 'proper' Shinobi and villages call us… _Lone_ -Nin."

The way he said 'Lone-nin', Naruto knew that Victor didn't think much of the title.

Naruto had never even thought about it like that, but Victor was right. Would his family have thought the same, thought less of him because he needed to eat Souls to survive? Before Naruto would have said that yes they would have accepted him without a doubt, now though after having found out they had lied and misled him for his entire life, he was not so sure. But one thing he knew was that the rest of the Hidden Leaf would not have accepted his existence.

Suddenly his plan to run away to Whirlpool sounded better, while at the same time not as well thought out as Naruto had first thought. Where would he find Souls? Sure animals kept him fed, but they didn't make him strong. He needed to be strong for when people eventually found out what he really was, when they would come for him. After all was that not his original plan, to get so strong he would never have to feel scared or weak again?

His hand hesitated as he reached for the last Soul, suddenly unsure with what he was going to do.

Until Victor spoke again.

"So are you heading to Water Country too?"

His question was quite simple, but all the same it through Naruto for a loop. Blinking Naruto turned away from the Soul and back to Victor, only to deadpan when he saw the boy wasn't even paying attention, instead he was just picking his nose.

"What?"

"The Land of Water, you going? With the Hidden Mist Civil War going on, it's the perfect place for Outcasts like us. More people killing each other than people ever bother to count, and there is always work in war for people like us with…special skills. So you going?" Victor asked again a grin on his face.

Naruto turned back to the last Soul and held it in his hand for a moment, before giving a silent nod and swallowing it.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"Great! We can go together…by the way what is with that stupid mask?"

"It is to hide my identity."

"Oh okay, so… are you any good at digging?"

 **( - )**

It was as Naruto and Victor were shoveling the last bits of dirt upon the mutilated remains of the Sound Shinobi that Naruto felt something. It was like a strange itch on the back of his neck, turning and looking around Naruto's eyes scanned the dark trees that surrounded him looking for anything that could have caused the feeling. As he looked around his enhanced sight allowed him to see through the night like it was day, but this enhancement did not allow him to look through trees.

Deciding to try something else out Naruto drew on his sensing abilities; although he did not that they be as good as Mito's sensory abilities, Naruto's had a unique trait to them. Searching the surrounding area with his abilities he soon found the source of his discomfort.

Sitting roughly twenty metres back from the tree line was the figure of another person, to Naruto's the person stuck out from the rest of his surroundings, his figure a blazing light compared to the rest of the dull and grayish landscape. The reason the man stuck out so much despite trying to suppress his chakra was due to the nature of Naruto's sensory ability, he did not sense chakra like a normal sensory Shinobi, instead he sensed life force.

Unfortunately though, something about his stance must have alerted the observer that he had been spotted. As without any warning they started leaping through the trees in the direction of Naruto and Victor. It took the Shinobi barely a few seconds to cross the distance and leap at Victor a kunai in hand as he shot towards his unwary prey.

It all happened so fast for Naruto, one second he had spotted an enemy Shinobi hiding in the background, observing the two of them, the next second he could see a blur like figure bursting out of the surrounding trees and heading for his newly made friend Victor.

It was as this was all happening that Naruto's adrenaline surged; his recently increased reserves of chakra roaring to life Naruto unconsciously started drawing on the chakra of the souls he had consumed. The energy flooding his limbs as Naruto lunged forward, heading to intercept the enemy Shinobi as they closed in on Victor, who only now was turning around.

As he moved Naruto felt his every sense flaring, the scent of blood and smoke in the air was stifling, the sound of his feet crunching against the forest floor. As he moved his eyes caught a glint of metal on the floor, it was an axe, no doubt dropped by one of the loggers when they were attacked. Taking a few steps forward his body thrumming with energy, Naruto lent down and scooped up the axe from the floor, the overabundant chakra running through his body, now pouring from his hands in a bluish grey wave as Naruto unconsciously channeled it into the axe he was wielding.

Another step and he had somehow caught up to the enemy, the person who had once been a blur coming into focus as Naruto approached. His axe already swinging though the air, even as the now revealed man lunged forward with his kunai, the metal forehead the man wore glinting in the firelight, as it revealed the symbol of the sound village.

CRUNCH!

With a dull crunching sound Naruto's axe made contact with the Shinobi, the blade of the axe connecting where the man's neck met his shoulder. The chakra infused blade cutting through muscle, skin and bone like a hot knife through butter. To Naruto's enhanced sight he could see how the flesh seemed to go grey and shrivel as the axe made contact, not that it really mattered as blade continued its path and sliced through the man's body, bursting out the other side in a shower of gore.

Falling on to his knees Naruto started panting, it had been barely five seconds since Naruto had identified the enemy, but somehow he felt as if it had been an hour. His heart thundered in his chest even as his entire body began shaking. Looking up he could see the vacant look in the gaze of the man he had just killed. Holding back a wretch, Naruto could already see the orb of light that represented his soul beginning to rise into the air above the man's slain body.

"Aww that's sweet, you brought desert…"

Looking up as he heard the voice Naruto saw Victor stood above him, the boy already twirling the scalpel in his hand as he looked down at the dead body in front of him. An assessing look on his face as he inspected the dead Shinobi's remains.

"Did you have to make such a mess though? I mean you probably ruined his heart and lungs. You my friend need some practice."

Looking at Victor a disbelieving expression on his masked face Naruto couldn't help but let loose a bark of laughter, the boy had come close to death, and yet he was so nonchalant about it. To Naruto it was absolutely absurd. Looking down Naruto again looked at the dead body of the Shinobi before turning his gaze instead to the woodcutter's axe he had picked up, the metal axe head was still in perfect condition, but the wooden handle was covered in splinters and cracks, it looked like it could fall apart at any second.

"I think I broke my axe." Naruto said blandly before turning his gaze back to Victor. The boy merely looking at him with an amused expression for some reason.

"We'll get you a new one, now hurry up and eat you're desert like a good boy. As I am in the market for a spare liver….

 **( - )**

 **(With Kushina)**

Kushina sat silently on the bed in Naruto's room, her eyes red from crying and her throat raw. The sound of heavy rain hitting the now closed window and strong wind made the only noise in the room, one of the Land of Fire's rare storms having hit the village an hour ago.

She felt sick and tired both, physically and emotionally. But no matter how hard she tried Kushina couldn't sleep, not while her son was missing.

They had been unable to get permission from the Daimyo of the Land of Rice, though not for lack of trying. The problem was that unless they gave their reason for wanting to cross the border they would not be allowed, but if word that Naruto had been taken got out there would be chaos.

Even with his condition Naruto was still the son of the Hokage, not to mention one of the very few Uzumaki left in existence. The moment it became known to other villages that he was taken there would be a mad scramble to find him, so Minato had to be very careful with who knew. This unfortunately didn't include the Daimyo of a country allied with the Hidden Rock, who were the last people they wanted to find out.

But now they had no leads, no trail and no way to track him, even now the storm washed away what few traces of his presence that were probably still around. Even if they were allowed to cross the border now the trail would have gone cold, leaving nothing for them to follow.

There only hope now was, as much as she hated it at the moment…Jiraiya.

Unfortunately they needed to wait for him to return to the village, the old pervert having left after the triplets birthday, after Kushina had…asked him to leave…with her foot…and a few well thrown kunai.

Minato had sent a messenger hawk with a letter calling him back to the village the moment they returned after hitting the border, but he didn't go into any details in the message in case it was intercepted by hostiles. But it depended on where he was in the Elemental Nations at the moment, just how long it would take for the message to get to him, along how long it would take him to get back.

Two weeks was a long time for someone like Jiraiya, and he could cover a lot of ground in that.

Though Minato had used one of their codes to stress the urgency of the situation, so when he did get the message the old pervert would no doubt come running as fast as he could to see what the problem was.

Letting out a tired sigh Kushina stood up and walked over to Naruto's desk, her hand gentle over the top as another tear fell from the corner of her eye. However before she could start crying again, something caught her eye. One of the draws on the desk was partly open, just enough for her to see that it was empty.

Wiping the tear from her face Kushina pulled the draw out completely and felt around the back to make sure, still finding nothing before moving on to a different draw.

All of them were empty.

Feeling a hard lump start to form in her stomach, Kushina slowly walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room. Her hands shaking, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

Nothing

This wasn't right, kidnappers don't waste time packing. They didn't give the person they were kidnapping time to grab a change of clothes, or other things…Eye widening as a new thought occurred to her, Kushina quickly had to grab the dresser for balance when she was hit with a dizzy spell.

The edges of her vision were starting to go black as her head continued to spin with the new realisation, but before she could even fully think the words through in her head the world faded completely and Kushina fell to the floor in a faint.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto and Victor took shelter from the storm in the hollow of one of the giant trees in the forest, the pair having long left the Loggers outpost behind them. A large billowing cloud of smoke and a single large mound that covered the site of a mass burial, being the only things left that would signify what had happened. Not that many people would ever look into it, it would instead be just written off as a bandit attack gone wrong.

Naruto had been more than a little disturbed when Victor hid the scroll containing the 'spare parts' he had collected inside his own body…literally. The boy had undone one of the stiches on his stomach and put the scroll inside before sowing it back up again as if nothing had happened.

The two of them stayed in the hollow tree until the worst of the storm had passed, at least for the moment and got a few hours of sleep. Naruto had not taken his mask off since he had met Victor despite the boy mocking it several times, and while he doubted the boy would recognise him even if he did take it off; he had no intention of removing it anytime soon. In fact Naruto decided that the only time he was going to remove it was when he started adding the Seals he wanted to add to it, which meant he had to first learn Fuinjutsu properly, though thinking about how long that might take, he was considering replacing the mask with something more convenient. But for the moment although his blonde hair was a bit unusual, it was nothing compared to the birthmarks on his face, those were traits that only three people were known to have, and all it would take is someone mentioning seeing a blonde boy with whisker like birthmarks, and all of Naruto's efforts would have been for nothing.

But having left the shelter of the tree hours ago the two boys now found themselves soaked to the bone, Victor's hair plastered to his head and glasses steamed up to the point he was forced to take them off every few minutes to clean them. Naruto was spared the worst of it by his hood, which had not come down since they had started walking again.

While it would have been faster to travel by Tree Jumping for Naruto, Victor was not as familiar with the method him not being a native of Konoha, and the heavy rain posed the increased possibility of slipping. Because of this and the fact Naruto had already put enough distance between himself and the village especially now that the rain was washing away his trail, the two boys were now quite comfortably walking at a steady pace in the direction of the Land of Water.

"So you said you are the first of your family to get this bloodline right, so that must mean you are working from scratch?" Victor asked a note of curiosity in his voice as he spoke to the younger boy.

Turning to look at Victor out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto took a moment to notice that other than needing to clean his glasses Victor didn't seem at all bothered by the rain in the slightest before answering.

"Basically, though I have been able to work out a few things by myself though. A…friend, gave me a scroll with the basics of Hand Seals and how they work."

His words seemed to bring a another grin to Victor's face, and Naruto was forced to stop when the older boy grabbed his arm and pulled him to a spot under a tree the rain wasn't able to get passed.

"I have got to see this, show me what you got!"

Licking his lips as he thought about whether or not he should show him, Naruto decided to give into his childish side and show off a little, after all having been looked down on his entire life he thought he was owed a bit of adulation. So with a mental shrug and a slight smile he started going through Hand Seals.

 **"Soul Release: Animal Spirit Summoning Jutsu."**

Naruto took a deep breath while making the Seals, before letting it out with a dark bluish grey mass of chakra that looked a lot more like smoke then when he had first started to create the Jutsu. He kept breathing out as the smoke swirled around in the air in front of him, before it slowly started to drift to the floor.

He watched with a smirk behind his mask as the smoke like chakra started to take the form of a fox with purple eyes, Victor watched Naruto's actions a rare serious expression on his face as he crouched down to get a closer look of the ghost like fox the blonde had just summoned.

Only for the expression to quickly fade as he burst out laughing, another large grin returning to his lips as he leaned back on his heels. Taking offense to his new friends reaction, Naruto was about to complain before Victor stood back up and turned his grin on him, patting him on the shoulder as he did so.

"You my friend will be one of the most feared Shinobi in the Elemental Nations."

Naruto was stunned for a moment, and much to his shame when he tried to speak it came out in a slight stutter.

"W-what?"

Victor was once again crouched down in front of his Spirit by this point, one hand slowly reaching out to poke it.

"You think I can't see what this is, I watched you eat a load of Souls, and probably missed you eating a load more remember? You just coughed up the Soul of a Fox so I can only assume that at some point you ate the soul of that fox, meaning you keep some kind of imprint of the Souls original form after you consumed it. If this holds true to human Souls too, then who knows the full extent of just what you can do. Hell you might even be able to absorb- ouch! What the hell?"

Victor was cut off mid-sentence when his finger finally made contact with the fox Spirit, only to pass through as if it really was made of smoke. However that wasn't the only thing that happened, as became apparent when the older boy pulled back his hand and looked at his finger. The skin that had come into contact with the Spirit had turn dark grey, and much to Naruto's shock looked to be rotting away very quickly.

Victor showed little care as he pulled out a scalpel and cut the finger off of his hand, the digit falling to the floor at his feet. They watched in silence for a moment as the grey skin continued to rot away for a moment, before turning to each other with odd looks on their faces.

Naruto was confused, having not seen such a reaction before. But he had never used the Jutsu for anything but practice, so there were clearly more for him to learn. Victor on the other hand instead of looking upset about losing a finger, was only grinning wider as he pulled a new one out of one of the pockets of his coat and started to sow it onto his hand.

"You really are full of surprises you know that…you know I never actually got a name off of you."

Naruto absently dispelled the Spirit with a wave of his hand, taking a moment to consider what to say. He couldn't tell Victor his real name; it would defeat the point of wearing a mask after all. But at the same time the older boy needed something to address him by didn't he?

Apparently seeing his conflict despite him wearing a mask, Victor gave a small shrug and folded his arms behind his head casually.

"Hey don't worry about it, I figure if you are still wearing that crappy mask you don't want your real name getting around either…how about a nickname then?"

Naruto gave a relieved sigh, grateful for his new friends understanding and gave a small nod.

Victor's lips formed a smile that only boarded on a grin, holding his chin in a thinking pose as he seemed to consider what to call him before clicking his fingers.

"I've got it, I'll call you Ghosty!"

Naruto gave him a deadpan look that could be both seen and felt through his mask, before shaking his head and walking back out into the rain.

Victor followed a moment later, his hand once again on his chin.

"No? Ok how about Deadly McDeadface? Corpse Breath? Soul Sucker?"

This continued for the next hour, until Naruto finally had enough and sucker punched Victor in the stomach to shut him up.

They never did settle on a name by the end of it though.

 **( - )**

 **AN : OK so I know there were a few odd bits in this but trust me when I say that they will al be explained later and that everything I added was done for a reason. Also some may ask why Naruto did not have an absolute break down after killing that guy, to explain the way I see it Naruto although sheltered has been completely desensitised to death, he has grown up in a shinobi village where killing in the name of ones village has been glorified. He has grown up hearing graphic stories of battles, it is like a child nowadays playing all those violent console games and watch graphically violent films except more.**

 **Also know some people maybe confused about Naruto's abilities, I will be doing a character Bio at some point which will summarise them. It won't be until after you have seen more of them in the story though.**

 **By the way as I said I know I will miss a few things out which is why I really should get a beta reader. But at the same time you should really be reading a story for its content, yes grammar and spelling is important and do tell me if you see any glaring errors. But do try and enjoy the story anyway. Yadda yadda.**

 **Also does anyone have any suggestions I have recently watch a show called RWBY fully, having only watch a two episodes before and really enjoyed it. I have found a couple of good fics already but would welcome some suggestions as I really do find the world that Monty Oum chap made very interesting.**

 **So yeah anyway I hope you all enjoyed it, and please leave a comment etc.**

 **I will probably update my page at some point just to keep people up-to-date about the stories I am or will be updating.**

 **Also in answer to one review I have heard a couple of times, as of yet there is no definite pairing, I have had ideas but nothing it certain.**

 **See you next time, if you are lucky I may have another chapter out tomorrow or the day after.**

 **Seagate.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN : So as promised here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy it. I have read a few really interesting messages and reviews that were very close to my own thought process.**

 **Anyway without further a do here is the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own the Naruto anime/manga.**

 _(Last Time)_

 _"Hey don't worry about it, I figure if you are still wearing that crappy mask you don't want your real name getting around either…how about a nickname then?"_

 _Naruto gave a relieved sigh, grateful for his new friends understanding and gave a small nod._

 _Victor's lips formed a smile that only boarded on a grin, holding his chin in a thinking pose as he seemed to consider what to call him before clicking his fingers._

 _"I've got it, I'll call you Ghosty!"_

 _Naruto gave him a deadpan look that could be both seen and felt through his mask, before shaking his head and walking back out into the rain._

 _Victor followed a moment later, his hand once again on his chin._

 _"No? Ok how about Deadly McDeadface? Corpse Breath? Soul Sucker?"_

 _This continued for the next hour, until Naruto finally had enough and sucker punched Victor in the stomach to shut him up._

 _They never did settle on a name by the end of it though._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 5- Off to Sea**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto made sure to pull his hood lower as they approached the small port settlement, this was both to cover his hair and to hide his masked face. While the mask couldn't be linked to him like could his hair, it would still put people on edge, plus he was tired of all the mocking he was receiving from Victor about it. Yes the workmanship wasn't the greatest, but he was only ten so give him some credit. When it came to unnerving people though, he really shouldn't have bothered, after all Victor did enough of that for the both of them, what with his scarred features and the insanely large grin spread across his face.

It had taken them just over two days to reach the ocean from when they had left the loggers settlement, though they did waste another five hours searching for the small port village they now found themselves at.

The both of them drew more than a few odd looks as they walked down the road towards the docks passing the small hut like buildings that made up the settlement as they did so, though no one seemed bothered enough to actually approach them. Between Victor's scars and Naruto's dark hooded clothing they could pass for ninja even if they were young, it was fortunate really that most civilians never looked too deeply where Shinobi were concerned.

Naruto was forced to drag Victor away from a few stores as they passed, the older boy taking a ridiculous amount of time to examine their wares, though to be honest Naruto believed he just did that to piss him off. At one point he had needed to use both hands to pull bizarre boy away from a butcher's shop that had several whole animals hanging from hooks in the window. What Victor wanted with the dead bodies of animals Naruto really didn't want to know, though the fact that he was salivating when he looked at them was very unnerving.

The port village was tiny when compared to the Hidden Leaf and wasn't even half the size, so even with Victor being a pain in the arse they got to the docks in under an hour. Though it was a struggle at one point, the streets were quite narrow after all and there seemed to be a lot of people in the town, turns out there was market in village today.

The smell of fish was heavy in the air; along with the smell from the recently returned and unwashed fishermen who had caught them. Victor looked like he didn't even notice while Naruto was trying not to be sick, but considering the older boy's habit of digging up graves it wasn't that much of a surprise that the stench of dead fish didn't both him.

However after they got to the dock they came to realize that the hard part of their journey had only just begun, they had to find someone willing to take them to the warzone that was the Land of Water. It turns out a lot of people were a little put off by the Civil War and had been avoiding it for the most part ever since it began a few months ago, not that Naruto could blame them. Supply Ships had a tendency to be attacked and raided by both The Hidden Mist and Rebellion, though the crew was rarely if ever harmed when they were attacked, the loss of income from their wares was still a harsh blow to the captains and investors.

This made offering to work on a supply ship for passage no use at all, because no one was stupid enough to even get near the Land of Water. Fishing Ships were also a dead end, most being too small to go that far away from the mainland. The few that were large enough to make the trip had set courses and none of them came even close to the Land of Water.

In the end after hours of searching and asking around, Naruto found the owner of a small ship willing to take them…for an unreasonably high price of course. The boat was in surprisingly good condition, even though there were a few patches of rust and a need for a new coat of paint. The man himself was middle aged with charcoal grey hair and a great big bushy beard that fell down to his chest, he had tattered and stained clothes with rotten teeth and repulsive breath. Though it wasn't just his breath that smelled, as he also smelled very strongly of alcohol, fish and shit, and Naruto very much doubted in the man's ability to get them across the sea in his boat.

Luckily between the money Naruto had saved over the years, and what Victor had…acquired over his travels. He thought it best not to ask for details, especially when he saw the spots of blood.

They were set to leave within the hour, after the boat was loaded and ready to sail. Victor had been…volunteered by the old man, Naruto didn't bother to remember his name, to help load the ship. Naruto was sure if he didn't still look like a walking skeleton that could barely hold himself up he would have been forced to help too, but the old man had taken one look at him and snorted before telling him to come back within the hour.

While he had been getting slowly better, it would still be a while before he looked anything but skinny. However over the last few days since he ate those human Souls's Naruto had defiantly bulked up slightly and he hadn't been hungry for the last few days either.

 **( - )**

Walking through the village Naruto looked around at the dirty streets and the large number of cramped shops and stores that ran along the main high street of the village. It was a shock to Naruto the difference between Konoha and this place, the disparity in wealth between the two was obvious. Looking around Naruto saw a market stall that grabbed his attentions, the stall was just a table with a dirty canvas roof overhead. But that was not what grabbed his attention, no it was what the stall was selling that did, it was selling weapons.

Walking up the stall Naruto could see the suspicious and wary look in the owner's eyes as he took in his appearance, puffing on a cigarette as he did so. Not that Naruto's appearance seemed to bother the man though as he forced a large smile on his face, the grin showing of his yellow smoke stained teeth.

"Welcome to Wakaba's Weapons! We have weapons for all occasions, the finest in the land, wielded by famous Shinobi and Samurai alike!"

Rasing his eyebrow at that Naruto looked down to peruse his collection, he was not impressed. Now Naruto's was no expert in weapons, in fact he couldn't even call himself adept but even he could see that most of the items the man sold were no better than scrap. Of course the stall owner didn't seem to catch Naruot's disappointment with his selection.

"See something you like young master, I weapons for Shinobi of all ages if that interests you. Why even the Hokage of Konoha himself has shopped from this store. Ahh I remember it like it was yesterday. Wakaba he said, we are on first name terms you know, so he said Wakaba I have recently been trying to create a new technique, I call it the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, but I have not finished it…"

The man carried on in that fashion for the next few minutes, telling Naruto how he had helped Minato Namikaze perfect his signature Jutsu and how even now the man still comes to him to buy his Shinobi gear. Suffice to say Naruto was left wide eyed at the amount of bullshit this man was sprouting.

"So anyway young sir just what kind of weapon were you looking for?" Wakaba finally asked, his question knocking the dumbstruck Naruto out of his daze.

"Ermm…" Naruto began as he looked down at the poor quality weapons the man had at his stall, assessing them to the best of his ability as he tried to find something half decent. His gaze soon fell on a hatchet, a single-handed tool which had a sharp blade on one side which looked like it was used to cut and split wood, and a hammer like head on the other side. Looking at it Naruto flashed back to a few days ago when he had cut down a full grown enemy Shinobi with a similar kind of weapon, the ease at which he did it still surrpsing him even now days later. The axe he had used then had had a double headed axe blade, and had unfortunately been unfit to use afterwards, the wood handle having been broken and splintered beyond repair. Looking at the hatchet on the stall, he saw that it had a metal handle and head, with what looked like a leather grip on the shaft.

Wakaba the stall owner upon seeing what had caught Naruto's eye instantly jumped at the opportunity and began his usual spiel. "Ahh a good eye you have indeed young sir, a formidable weapon that is sir, why I sold one just like it the other day to another formidable Shinobi, tell me have you ever heard of Zabuza Momochi one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Why of course you have, well just the other day he came in and bought the exact same weapon to replace his old one."

"Aren't hatchets usually used for cutting wood…?" Naruto replied blandly looking up at the man again as he did so.

"W-well yes I suppose but…" The man said taken off guard slightly by Naruto's blunt question.

"I will give you 50 lien for it." Naruto said deciding that since he was going to an active war zone it would be worthwhile have a weapon. He did still have his knife, but using a knife in combat would require a certain amount of skill, skill that Naruto had not quite built up yet. **(1)**

"50 lien!" Wakaba said aghast a look of shock on his face as he did so. "Why a fine piece like this is easily worth…"

"45 lien."

"Wait…"

"40 lien."

"Ok, ok you can have it." He said hurriedly as Naruto showed no signs of stopping, the greasy man gaining a scowl on his face as the masked boy did not buy into any of his spiel.

"Good." Naruto said fishing out the money from the pocket of his coat as he did. It was not much money, but it was still only slightly less than the weapon was probably worth.

Picking up the hatchet from the table after giving the grumbling Wakaba his money, Naruto turned away from the stall and began heading down the street again.

 **( - )**

As Naruto continued to walk through the little village he decided to take opportunity while he had it, soon he found himself walking into the village's post office, the walls covered in shelves with bird nests for the messenger pigeons to rest on. This place like seemingly the rest of the village also stank, only it was not the smell of fish that infested this place, it was instead the acrid smell of bird feces. Each of the nests had a metal plate with the name of the place they would fly to on the front, along with the price for delivery.

The letter Naruto had in one of the inside pockets of his coat had been burning a hole in it ever since he wrote it before leaving the Leaf, and now that he was about to leave the Land of Fire it was time to send it.

It was a letter to his family, though he had addressed it to Shikamaru to be careful. He didn't want one of the people working at the post office to see the Namikaze name and decided to make a little extra money by telling someone that could intercept it, and he knew that Shikamaru would know to take it to his family.

The only reason he didn't leave it in his room when he left was that he needed all the time he could get to put as many miles between himself and the Leaf as possible, and the time they would have spent searching the village before getting a tracking team involved had bought him even more time. But now he was far enough away he should send the letter, after all he may not especially like his family at the moment and he may never like them again, but he would always love them. They were his family after all and despite the lies they had loved and cared for him, which had inspired the unconditional love many children have for their parents and parents have for their children. It didn't mean he wasn't still pissed off and upset as he was, but he owed it to both his family and himself to explain why he left.

Naruto hesitated slightly as his hand moved to the letter, nerves suddenly making his body freeze. Was he really doing the right thing? Maybe this was a mistake?

But then Victor's words rang in his head again, about what he was and what people thought of people like them. He was a Lon- no…he was an Outcast now, a scavenger of the Elemental Nations and the only way for people like him to survive was to be strong and resilient.

Licking his lips Naruto let out a sigh and pulled the letter out and walked over to one of the people working.

"Konoha…no rush."

Without another word Naruto place both his letter and the money on the table and turned to leave, deciding to have a look around the rest of the village before heading back to the dock.

 **( - )**

 **(With Kushina)**

Kushina let out a frustrated sigh as she leaned back in her hospital bed, a fierce scowl on her face as she tried not to fidget under the gaze of the several ANBU hidden in the room for her protection. She had been confined to the room and its bed for the last three days, after having fainted in Naruto's room.

At first she had assumed it was just the stress and the shock of realising that Naruto might not have been kidnapped after all, but after she had woken up in the hospital the doctors had a different theory.

Kushina was pregnant, about a month and a half according to the tests they had run on her while she was under their care.

When Minato had told her Kushina had been a mess, as she was filled with a strange mixture of joy and sorrow, the two emotions fighting for dominance in her mind. The fact she was having another son or daughter was great news, no it was absolutely fantastic news and there was no way in hell she would ever think differently, having a child with the man she loved was a blessing, and another additions to her family was a dream come true. However her joy was dampened by the knowledge that the child growing in her even now may never get to meet their brother, who it seemed had actually run away from home. Meaning that even with the new addition to their family it would never truly be complete until Naruto came home to them.

When she had told Minato her fear her husband had gone very quiet for a moment, a look of horror flashing behind his eyes before he could completely hide it from her. He had then quietly excused himself to go and check for himself, only to return a few hours later and tell her that he came to the same conclusion.

Minato was actually in a Council Meeting at this very moment updating the other Clan Heads, and she knew it would mean they would have to change the search method they had been using. It was a lot harder to find someone that didn't _want_ to be found over someone being forced along by a group of kidnappers, even if they were just an untrained child.

Naruto had already proven himself more resourceful then anyone had given him credit for by not only getting out of the village, but also somehow making it to the border before they could catch up. He had timed it perfectly, and it had them wasting time looking around the village before even getting trackers involved. This under any other circumstance would have made Kushina swell with pride, had it not been for the fact that this ingenuity of Naruto's behalf was making the process of finding him that much more difficult. But thinking on it, it still made no logical sense that the frail boy they all knew could cover such a distance in such a short amount of time, especially since he hadn't even unlocked his chakra yet.

Kushina let out a sad sigh as she leaned back in her bed, her eyes slowly wandering to the form of Mito sitting in a nearby chair in the corner of the room reading a book on Seals with an amount of focus that worried her. Both Mito and Erza had been taking turns to keep her company, but both had thrown themselves into their training to an almost obsessive degree since Naruto disappeared.

They hadn't told them that Naruto might have run away yet, worried as they were about the reaction the news could receive from their two girls. They would tell them soon though; it would only cause more problems later down the road if they didn't, after all wasn't this whole situation caused by lies in the first place?

But for now anyway she needed to keep calm and trust that Minato would be able to find Naruto, even if every instinct in her body was screaming at her that she should be out there searching with the rest of them. She had a baby she had to care for at the moment and who knows the complications that could be caused by her actively engaging Shinobi work would have on her unborn baby. No she would have to trust in Minato and the others.

He would be found, and everything would be ok…

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto took in a deep breath of the salty air coming in off of the sea as he leaned over the side of the ship, his eyes closed as he took a moment to just feel as the waves rocked them slightly, the wind blowing gently against his masked face. They had left the port around five hours ago, and so far the weather seemed to be staying calm, the skies were slightly cloudy but there did not look to be any oncoming dark clouds.

Naruto still wasn't sure what the name of the middle aged Captain was, who at the present time was whistling as he steered the boat, though both he and Victor had taken to calling him Captain for lack of anything better. The fact he was still drunk when they set off had worried Naruto slightly, but after the first hour the sea air seemed to have sobered him up.

It would take them at least four days at this pace to reach the Land of Water, probably longer if the weather took a bad turn.

Licking his lips Naruto turned his back to the seemingly endless sea and made his way below deck to the 'room' he was sharing with Victor. It was actually the storage room where Captain kept things that weren't regularly needed, like spare sheets and emergency food that didn't spoil. They both had their own hammock instead of beds, because apparently they were better for sleeping in on a boat. Apparently it was very easy to fall out of a bed at night when the boat was constantly rocking to and fro.

Victor was off doing…something; he had locked himself in the other storeroom and hadn't shown himself since. Naruto wasn't really sure he _wanted_ to know what the older boy was doing, though based on the sounds of sawing and curses it probably wasn't anything good.

Ignoring his hammock for the moment Naruto carefully made his way to one of the crates to take a seat, using the wall to brace himself as the boat rocked on the waves. He crossed his legs and waited a moment to make sure he wouldn't be thrown off, before letting out a deep sigh and closing his eyes.

It took less than a minute for the world to fade around him; having practiced every day before he left the Leaf slipping into his mindscape had become almost easy for him. When he opened his eyes again Naruto was once again standing on the Wall that divided the dark side of his mind from the light, turning around he saw his inner counterpart You casually sitting on the side of the wall facing the darker side of his mind, his legs dangling over the edge as he occasionally kicked them out while humming a tune to himself.

Without a word Naruto moved to sit next to the other half of himself, his eyes looking out over the Impure world, wandering across the dead landscape before them in curiosity.

"I take it they all ended up over there? None seemed the type to feel guilt for what they were doing." Naruto said, nodding in the direction of the barren landscape before him.

" **Yeah, they weren't exactly a pleasant lot, murderers and thieves mostly, though there was one of them who was the worst of a bad lot, a murderer, a thief and a rapist. They had killed hundreds of people between them, and had kidnapped dozens of others for sick experimentation. The world is a lot better off without their kind of filth in it.** " You said as he turned his eyes to Naruto, the blonde not even blinking as he met You's crimson irises.

Naruto was not bothered by this news, in fact if anything it made him feel better about eating their Souls knowing that they were scum of the earth.

"Anything interesting you think I should know about? I know you said you would go through the memories we managed to absorb. Did you find anything interesting like new Jutsu or chakra exercises?"

You upon hearing this leaned back slightly his hands behind his head as he thought about his other half's question. Seeming to come to a decision he looked up again a contemplative look on his face.

" **They didn't really have much in the way of Jutsu that we can learn, the lot of them were little more than cannon fodder but there are a few things we work on in our spare time, I will share the relevant memories with you when I have finished sorting through them and then you can practice them with our body."** You said a slight smirk on his face as he looked up at the sun like orb above them, which seemed to have multiple images flickering around in it. The orb was man times bigger than it had been before, it having been expanded by the added chakra the souls Naruto devoured generated.

But the orb did not just contain the chakra of the Souls trapped within Naruto it also was where the memories that had been absorbed were kept. The memories were all of the victim's most recent ones, which could be anything from a week to a couple of month's worth of memories, and it was You's role to sort through these memories and manage the Souls they devoured just as it was Naruto's job to strengthen their body and eat more Souls to keep their body running. It was almost like they were an engine really, You was the engineer and Naruto was the operator, neither could fully function without the other.

Turning away from the orb to look at Naruto once more the smile slipped off of his face. **"The only other thing I can think of is the fact that the Otokage is a man named Orochimaru, and from the things I have seen he is bad news. I suggest we avoid both him and his village for as long as possible, because it would take a very long time before you could even scratch him.** "

Before Naruto could answer his eyes were drawn to movement in the barren landscape of the Impure world, something that had never happened before. You had warned Naruto what would happened to anyone who was sent there, but that didn't change the fact he was slightly shocked.

Slowly wondering through the dead trees was a black cloaked figure without legs, floating about two feet off of the ground. The cloak was very loose and covered everything but the lower half of the face and the hands, both of which were covered in scabby grey skin. Its fingers were twice as long as they would have been, and from what Naruto could see of its mouth the lips were black and what few teeth it had were falling out and pointed.

As he watched the creature turned its head upwards slightly, letting Naruto see under the hood and see the skeletal like face covered in tight grey skin and empty eyeholes under the hood.

This was a Wraith.

You had told Naruto that after his judgment, if a Soul was place going to be placed in the Impure world it would first be forced to experience all the pain and suffering they had inflicted in life. By the end of it they were reduced to nothing but a hollow shell, with no memories or self-awareness. The dark portion in Naruto's mind wasn't punishment; it was merely the holding cell of what was left after the punishment had been completed. It had been designed by You, who had absolute control over their mindscape just as Naruto had absolute control over their physical body.

When asked by Naruto about whether he was happy with the situation, You had replied yes, he could feel everything Naruto felt and would experience everything he did, and that for him was more than enough. Plus he had also revealed his slightly sadistic side when he explained how although he enjoyed playing with the animal souls in the light side, he enjoyed messing with the corrupt Souls in the Impure world more.

As Naruto continued to watch, two more wraiths came floating through towards the other, seeming to be unaware of each other despite being within only a few feet apart.

You followed his gaze and gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulders, his face set into a bored expression.

" **Pathetic aren't they, don't spend too much time thinking about them Naruto. They got what they deserved.** "

Naruto winced slightly when he heard that, he knew deep down that You was probably right, but in his young mind it still seemed slightly wrong. It was moments like this that made the blonde realise how different You and him were, they may share the same body and soul, but their two personalities were very different, You was a lot harsher and less forgiving than him despite them being the same age.

Forcing himself to turn away Naruto gave a nod before getting to his feet, moving to look out over the Pure world instead. A moment later You stood up to and came to stand next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he did so.

" **So you want to start on one of those Jutsu I got from their heads? There are a couple of really cool ones…..** "

Naruto couldn't help but smile a bit when he heard what You said, they may be very different in some ways, but they were very similar in others, You always knew exactly what to say to cheer him up.

" **What kind of cool Jutsu.** "

"Tell me have you ever heard of elemental manipulation…" You said as he took a step off the wall and leapt towards the light side of the mindscape, Naruto quickly following along after.

 **( - )**

 **(With Shikamaru)**

The moment that he saw the name written on the back of the letter he had just received, Shikamaru knew that he would need to show it to his father even if it was troublesome. They were all sat at the table eating breakfast when it was placed on the table in front of him by his mother. Luckily for Shikamaru though his father Shikaku was still reading the newspaper while sitting at the end of the table, which meant that if he wanted to give him the message he wouldn't have to go looking for him, that would have been troublesome.

"Hey dad…"

Shikaku didn't look up from his paper, or even bother to acknowledge hearing him.

Letting out a sigh, Shikamaru tried again.

"Troublesome…dad you should probably take a look at this."

"What it is Shikamaru, I'm reading?"

He still didn't look up from his paper.

"I got a letter from Naruto."

That got the older Nara's attention, his eyes shooting up as he quickly studied Shikamaru's face before his gaze dropped to the letter his son held in his hand.

"Are you sure?"

Instead of speaking Shikamaru showed him the back of the letter, where Naruto's name was written clear as day. His paper long forgotten Shikaku reached out and took the offered letter, a deep frown on his scarred face before standing up and motioning for his son to follow him.

Shikamaru was slightly confused that his dad didn't just take the letter and leave him to finish his meal, but that gave way to more confusion when he realised he was being taken to the Shinobi Hospital. Without any doctors or nurses giving them a second glance the two Nara cut a path straight to one room in particular, and when the door opened Shikamaru was faced with the Hokage and his family all sitting around his wife who was currently laying on a hospital bed in the middle of one of the hospital's private rooms.

The two Nara's entrance got the attention of the two other adults in the room, though it looked like Mito and Erza had both fallen asleep in the nearby chairs they were sitting in. Shikamaru had no idea how long they must have been there, but his eyes did pick out the unmistakable trails of what he knew to be dried tear tracks that were running down their faces.

Based on that he could only assume that they had been told something that made them upset, and had worn themselves out. His eyes quickly moved to the red headed woman in the bed for a moment as he tried to determine why Lady Kushina the Hokage's wife was in it in the first place, but other than looking very tired she didn't seem to be overtly sick.

Then his eyes moved to the letter still in his dad's hands, and it wasn't a stretch to connect the dots that it was probably something to do with Naruto going missing. However the moment his mind moved to the sickly blonde Namikaze, Shikamaru's mind was hit with the image of black sclera, burning crimson irises and the feeling of death that they had inspired in his body, thinking of that he couldn't keep from shivering slightly.

Shikamaru slowly moved to the side of the room, where he leant back against the wall as his dad closed the door to the room behind him and moved over to have a whispered conversation with the Hokage, both men looking from the letter to him several times. At some point Kushina started whispering along with them, and Shikamaru was able to see the pained expressions that kept flashing across both her and her husband's face's at whatever they were talking about.

Eventually his father motioned for him to come forward and handed him the letter, all three adults staring at him.

"You want me to open it?" He asked, his usually bored tone becoming inquisitive at he stared at the sealed letter in his hands.

It was Shikaku that answered him, the seriousness of the situation in both his voice and face as he looked at his son.

"The Laws of the Leaf prevent the Hokage or anyone else from interfering with any of the Clan's unless asked. The letter is addressed to you, the heir of the Nara Clan, which means that only you can open and read it."

Letting out a sigh, Shikamaru gave a shrug of his shoulders and without over thinking it, he opened the letter and looked inside. His eyebrows rose slightly when he saw a second letter addressed to the Namikaze family in side it, along with another small note.

 **( - )**

 **(The Letter)**

 _Shikamaru, please give my family this letter. Sorry for the trouble this is causing you, but I couldn't risk someone intercepting it because it was addressed directly to my family._

 _Naruto_

 **( - )**

 **(With Shikamaru)**

Without a word Shikamaru handed the note to his father and the letter to the Hokage, before moving to once again lean against the wall. He also noticed that both Mito and Erza were awake now, though they seemed to be very confused about what was going on. With Erza sending him a searching look, most probably wondering what he was doing here.

It seemed like he was soon forgotten altogether though when the Hokage finally got over his surprise at being handed the letter, before reading it out loud for his whole family to hear. Ignoring the fact that both Shikamaru and his father were present, no doubt knowing that he could trust in Shikaku's discretion.

 **( - )**

 **(The Second Letter)**

 _I'm sorry_

 _I know it might not make any difference at this point, but I needed to tell you that I am sorry that I left. By now I am sure you realised that I was not kidnapped, and by the time you get this letter I will be too far away and out of your reach. The fact I was able to send this letter also means that I left the Land of Fire and that you did not catch me, which is probably for the best for everyone involved._

 _I know that you don't understand why I left, but I need you to know that I had my reasons. These reasons were not just to hurt you after the years of lying and misleading, no, it was because this is something that I feel I have to do. At the moment I am weak, you know that and so does everyone else, and I no longer want that to be true. Something has happened, something that has made me realise that I need to get stronger._

 _You said yourselves that you couldn't risk training me for fear of my heath, but by refusing to help me you have pushed my hand. I unlocked my chakra by myself but when I did I found out something about myself, something different._

 _I need to get stronger for what is to come, because when people find out what I can do their opinion on me will change, whether that is for better or worse I do not know. Either way, I have left Konoha to have a new start, I ask that you respect my choice and understand that I do not do this to be cruel._

 _Hopefully I will see you again; if not then I wish you all the best._

 _Once again I'm sorry it had to come to this,_

 _Love_

 _Naruto_

 **( - )**

 **(With Shikamaru)**

Well that was cryptic.

The young Nara knew that Naruto had gone missing, he had picked up that something was going on from this dad even if the man had not actually told him himself. After that it didn't take long to realise that Naruto had not been seen in several days, which while not overly odd for the usually sickly boy when combined with the stressed looks he had seen on the faces of the Hokage and the last remaining members of the Uzumaki Clan it was more telling. He had come to the conclusion that Naruto's condition had either become worse, or he had gone missing.

However he had never in his wildest imagination thought Naruto had actually ran away from Konoha and his family.

Shikamaru stood quietly as the other people in the room all started talking at once, trying to understand what Naruto was talking about in his letter. Mito and Erza asking their parents what it all meant, while his father and the Hokage were once again talking, though this time they did not bother to whisper. The only one not talking was Kushina, who was instead silently crying as she read over the letter over and over again after it had been passed to her by her husband.

Closing his eyes as all the talking was starting to give him a headache, Shikamaru tried to dissect the words from the letter in a way to make sense of it all.

To the young Nara, Naruto sounded like he was desperate and angry, probably more desperate than angry though. Something had happened; something that worried the usually quiet and composed Naruto enough that he thought wasn't safe in the village anymore, something about himself. He had left to get stronger to protect himself that much was obvious, he thought that whatever it was that scared him meant people would be coming for him even from his own village. But what could be so bad that his own father, the Hokage, wouldn't protect him inside his own walls, what could be so bad that he wasn't confident telling his own family about it?

The way he was talking, it was like he feared for his life if this secret whatever it was got out and the Naruto he knew was no coward, the fact he was willing to confront his family at the party was proof of that. But despite this he was still scared enough that he ran away, and with all his cryptic talk of getting stronger…. If the blonde thought whatever he was hiding or running from was that bad, Shikamaru believed there was a genuine reason behind it.

It was while he was thinking along these lines that Shikamaru realised something. There were things that the Hokage wouldn't be able to protect his own from, things that the village and people inside it would fight over, things that as Hokage it would be his duty to take advantage of for the good of Konoha.

Bloodlines and the power they gave.

Naruto said in his letter he discovered something about itself after he unlocked his chakra, something different. Everyone knew about the Uzumaki Solid Chakra Bloodline, it was common knowledge in the village like all the other Bloodlines. But were there not other unique Uzumaki bloodlines that have been recorded before, so would it be that surprising if Naruto had unlocked something different when he unlocked his chakra…something new.

Shikamaru was once again brought back to the memory of those terrifying eyes and the feeling they gave him, it was almost like he was staring into the eyes of death itself…

"His eyes…"

Although he had said it in little more than a whisper, all conversation in the room stopped as they realised that he was still there, the different people in the room turning to look at him.

After a moment passed and he didn't elaborate Shikaku moved to kneel in front of him with a hard expression, placing his hands gently on his son's shoulders as he did so.

"Shikamaru…what do you know?"

"It was at the party, just before everything kicked off when Hokage announced he was going to teach Mito and Erza that Jutsu. I saw Naruto was upset and I grabbed his arms to try and get him to calm down, but when I did he glared at me…with these red eyes. The sclera of both his eyes were completely black, there was no white or anything and his irises they were red, like blood. I didn't think anything of it at the time, maybe a trick of the light or something but…"

He didn't need to say anymore, the adults in the room suddenly looking a lot more worried than they had before.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Looking around Naruto was starting to understand why the Hidden Mist village was named like it was, even though they were nowhere near the Hidden Village itself. The closer they got to the Land of Water the harder it became to actually see, and the young blonde was beginning to get worried about the Captains ability to even find the shoreline in the ever thickening air.

According to Captain today it was thicker than usual, but they were only a few miles out from the Land of Water and would be there before the end of the day. Apparently the mist became thicker and thicker the closer you came to the Land of Water, with it being the worst the closer inland you got. The Hidden Mist village was located somewhere in the thickest part of the mist, where even on clear days it was still hidden from a distance.

Fortunately Naruto and Victor weren't aiming for the Hidden Mist.

Victor told Naruto that he had gotten word from some friends that they had set up camp with the Rebellion, and that the two groups had come to an understanding for now. He had arranged for someone to meet them at the village that they would be docking at, who when they met them would then lead them to the Rebellion's hidden camp.

However before they even got there Victor was explaining a few things to Naruto, mostly what he should expect after they arrived.

Apparently the some of the Rebellion were only putting up with the Outcasts because they were outnumbered and had no other choice, so they were treated like unwanted trash for the most part. But that a number of the leadership and some of the more liberal minded members of the Rebellion were starting to accept the Outcasts. For the moment however the two groups were in separate camps and the Outcasts were only allowed into the Rebellion camp if they were invited, which was a very rare occurrence.

In return for being allowed to 'do their own thing' after any battles or in some cases during them, the Outcasts helped where they could with the Rebellion. However people with needs such as Naruto and Victor were limited to the enemy Shinobi, and were not allowed to touch the fallen Rebellion soldiers.

Victor had also warned Naruto that there was a chance that they would all need to leave before the end of the war, even if the Rebellion won in the end. As it turned out that it wasn't uncommon for people to turn on the Outcasts after they no longer had any use for them, and some took the mentality that it was better to kill them when they had the chance instead of risking them being against them later. This had happened before and so the Outcasts had wised up and now treated even their own allies with suspicion. As without a village to protect them there were no real repercussions for the Shinobi to fear after all, because no one cared about the Outcasts. The only thing they had to fear was the Outcasts themselves, most of whom due to the harsh lifestyles they lived had become hardened veterans and more than a match for Jounin's and Chunin's from the Shinobi villages.

Naruto was disgusted with this revelation, unable to understand how people could be so cold. Though he was cheered up slightly after hearing how a number of the Rebels were beginning to accept them, after all were they not rebelling against a tyrant who was targeting people with bloodlines? Unfortunately though, not all of the Rebels have come to see the hypocrisy of their actions.

When Naruto mentioned his disgust over the treatment of the Outcasts, Victor had simply shrugged off his concerns and said that that was just how things worked, humanity was a deeply flawed race, and always would be. The last hour of their trip Naruto spent in silence as he thought over everything Victor had told/warned him about, thinking over what his life was going to be like from now on.

It wasn't until they were finally able to see land through the now slightly thinning mist that Naruto came to one conclusion…

Things needed to change, even if he had to change them by force.

 **( - )**

 **AN: Right so I hope you enjoyed it, I know there will be some questions raised over the true origins of You, it will be fully explained later on in the story. As will Naruto's full abilities, I will say now though that he won't be able to use other people's bloodlines by absorbing their souls, as although he has their chakra his body does not automatically adapt to using that kind of bloodline. There maybe some exceptions depending on how I fell, but for the moment I am saying that he isn't able to take people's bloodlines when he takes their souls. Whether that changes as he becomes more powerful or other factors etc. who knows.**

 **Other than that I hope you all review and comment etc. I do love to here from you all.**

 **See you next time with the next chapter.**

 **Seagate.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN : Here is the next chapter hope you all enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto.**

 _Victor had also warned Naruto that there was a chance that they would all need to leave before the end of the war, even if the Rebellion won in the end. As it turned out that it wasn't uncommon for people to turn on the Outcasts after they no longer had any use for them, and some took the mentality that it was better to kill them when they had the chance instead of risking them being against them later. This had happened before and so the Outcasts had wised up and now treated even their own allies with suspicion. As without a village to protect them there were no real repercussions for the Shinobi to fear after all, because no one cared about the Outcasts. The only thing they had to fear was the Outcasts themselves, most of whom due to the harsh lifestyles they lived had become hardened veterans and more than a match for Jounin's and Chunin's from the Shinobi villages._

 _Naruto was disgusted with this revelation, unable to understand how people could be so cold. Though he was cheered up slightly after hearing how a number of the Rebels were beginning to accept them, after all were they not rebelling against a tyrant who was targeting people with bloodlines? Unfortunately though, not all of the Rebels have come to see the hypocrisy of their actions._

 _When Naruto mentioned his disgust over the treatment of the Outcasts, Victor had simply shrugged off his concerns and said that that was just how things worked, humanity was a deeply flawed race, and always would be. The last hour of their trip Naruto spent in silence as he thought over everything Victor had told/warned him about, thinking over what his life was going to be like from now on._

 _It wasn't until they were finally able to see land through the now slightly thinning mist that Naruto came to one conclusion…_

 _Things needed to change, even if he had to change them by force._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 6 - New Faces**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

The moment the boat docked the two boys jumped off of the boat and started walking into the small coastal village, Naruto with his hood up and Victor surprisingly with a blank forehead protector tied around his waist like a belt, it was something that hadn't been there the last time Naruto had looked. Just like Victor though Naruto had actually taken to wearing the similar blank forehead protector he had been given by Itachi like a scarf, though he did leave it loose so that it could be seen even with his hood pulled up and his coat fastened.

The mist was a lot thinner at the moment then it had been on their approach to the Land of Water, but even so it still circled the village they were in on all sides and almost seemed to cut it off from the rest of the world. Naruto also noticed that unlike in the Land of Fire, the buildings seemed to be more rounded here, the architecture no doubt having changed to fit in with the different landscape and climate. All the buildings looked like half circles lying on top of the ground, with round windows and even round doors, it was for Naruto who had grown up in Konoha quite a surprise just how different the different countries were.

The people in the village were all rather pale too, though Naruto assumed it was because of the lack of direct sunlight that came with constantly living in the mist. He had caught several looking at them as they passed out of the corner of his eye in curiosity, but the moment they saw the blank headbands many of those looks were replaced by either fear or in a few small cases disgust.

Already Naruto was starting to see the attitude people were having towards them, and it made him frown behind his mask and pull his hood down a little further.

After they had been walking for ten minutes seemingly at random Naruto turned to look at Victor from under his hood.

"Where are we meeting these friends of yours?"

Victor seemed to take a moment to think this over before giving a shrug, his eyes still scanning their surroundings as they continued on through the village.

"No idea, never actually, though to be honest I have not really met any of them before."

His words brought Naruto to a complete stop, the older boy himself soon stopping him when he realised that the masked blonde was not following, at which point he turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow in silent question. It took Naruto a moment to calm down, so he didn't just start shouting at his friend in the middle of the street for all and sundry to hear.

"If you never met them before and haven't arranged an actual meeting place, then how in hell are we supposed to find the people taking us to the camp?" Naruto asked his tone somewhat strained as he tried not to give into his irritation, the smile on Victor's face only making that harder.

Instead of getting worried though Victor instead just gave him another of his overly large grins, before turning on his heel and starting to walk off again, turning his head and speaking over his shoulder as he did so. "Don't worry we'll know them when we see them, trust me. Just look for people that stand out and don't belong, they're like us... but you know… older."

Naruto could feel his eye twitching behind his mask, but quickly moved to follow Victor before he got too far ahead. He may be a little pissed off with his eccentric friend, but that didn't mean he was going to go off by himself in a strange land whilst being surrounded by hostile people.

As it turned out Victor wasn't wrong about being able to find the group that was going to take them to the Outcast camp, and within another five minutes they turned a corner and saw three people that definitely didn't belong in the village standing at the end of a road just outside the village's border.

The first person there to catch his eye was a giant of a man that was standing easily over eight feet tall, making him clearly visible above the heads of the other people around him. The man was built like a body builder, with muscles on his muscles, each of which could be seen moving under his skin, with arms and legs looking more like tree trunks than limbs in terms of size. The man's head was shaved with the exception of a line of black hair that went down the middle of his head, which went all the way from his brow to the back of his neck, before turning into a long braid that fell to his lower back.

As they came closer Naruto also noted the fact that the man was wearing nothing but a brown loincloth, leaving the rest of his body bare for the entire world to see. This also included the blood red tribal tattoos that covered every inch of his body, including his face. The last thing about the man that stood out was his eyes, which were a very dark blue and that seemed to stand out from the rest of his body.

There was a blank forehead protector around his waist for a belt that was holding up his loincloth, the blank plate identifying him as an Outcast like Naruto and Victor.

The second figure that was waiting for them was a woman, only she looked a lot more normal then the giant, at first sight at least. The image of normality however was broken as they came closer, by the single prominent yellow eye that was located the middle of her head, the single eye replacing the two that a person would normally have. The woman was an average height with shoulder length red hair, she wore light green clothing with leather padding for armour over the top, her outfit looked to be designed so that it gave her some protection, whilst not restricting her movements and showing off her curves at the same time. She was also wearing what looked like goggles that had been specifically made for her one eye, which after seeing them coming she pulled down so as to cover and hide said eyes from view due to the tinted glass of the goggles.

Naruto thought she looked to be the youngest of the group, no older then her late teens at the most. She also had a longbow in her hand that was as long as she was tall, with a leather quiver on her back full of arrows with white feathers on the ends.

Her blank headband was tied to her left arm just below her shoulder, visible for all to see whilst not getting in the way.

By the time Naruto turned his attention to the last man of the group be thought he was done being surprised, until he saw that this man didn't' seem to have any _eyes_ at all. In the place where his eyes would usually be was nothing but unblemished skin. He was dressed in simple traditional grey robe like clothes that hung loosely on his slim form. He had very long white hair that fell loosely to his chest and covered most of his face from view. He also had a scraggly unshaved beard, which whilst not particularly long or well groomed, still seemed to fit him.

The eyeless man was without a doubt the oldest member of the small group, and from what Naruto could see of his face it was worn and covered in deep wrinkles that reminded him of Sarutobi Hiruzen back in the Hidden Leaf village. The man also had a long bo-staff clasped in both of his hands, which was currently being used as a walking, on the top of his bo-staff there was what looked like a small bell. Like the other people with him the man also wore a blank forehead protector, but unlike the others his headband was actually tied to his forehead. To finish off his ensemble he also wore a pair of old fashioned wooden sandals that made an audible 'click' with every step he took.

The three Shinobi were being sent more odd looks and glares than both Naruto and Victor had as they had walked through the village, but none of the three seemed to really be paying them the slightest bit of attention. As Naruto and Victor approached, the blonde could see the one eyed woman pointing to Victor before leaning over to whisper something to the other two.

Victor unlike Naruto showed absolutely no hesitation as he walked over to the three adults, his usual grin on his face and hands in his pockets as if to show just how relaxed he was with the situation. Naruto on the other hand found himself slowing slightly and standing a little further back, unsure if he was as welcome as Victor, especially seeing as he was new to the Outcast life. So instead of going straight up to the trio like Victor did he hung back slightly, listening as Victor spoke to their guides and introduced himself, making sure to remember the names they had in turn.

The giant man with the tattoos was apparently called Okorimashita Kyojin, though he told them to just call him Kyojin. His voice was very deep and Naruto could almost feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke. The woman was named Katame Shapu, and seemed to be very soft spoken unlike her much bigger and more muscled companion. As for the old man he was named Buraindo Furui, though he told them to just call him old man. His voice sounded as old as he looked, but there was a small smile on his lips as he talked, and the genuineness of it was evident as it did put Naruto more at ease.

It seemed that Victor had all but forgotten him by this point, and Naruto was about to speak up when Furui the old man turned in his direction with his eyeless face as if he were looking right at him.

"Who is your friend Victor, I can hear his heartbeat behind you but he has yet to introduce himself?" The old man said in a strong voice, which belayed his thin and aged appearance.

This statement got the attention of the other two, both of whom now turned around to look at him before turning back to Victor. Said boy blinking in confusion for a moment, before a look of realisation crossed his face as he remembered that Naruto was with him, as that realisation struck he started grinning again, before lunging forward and grabbing Naruto's arm to pull him forward.

"Ah I almost forgot this is…well we don't have a name for him yet, I tried giving him a few but he didn't seem to like any of the names I came up with for him. But anyway he is kind of new to the Outcast life so I offered to let him tag along with me, hope you don't mind." Victor said enthusiastically, his tone and expression telling all those in the vicinity that he didn't really give a damn whether or not they minded.

Naruto tilted his head up slightly at his 'sort of' introduction so that the other three…or rather two adults could see his masked face, and after doing so he was a little surprised to see them giving him an understanding look. Furui was the one to actually step forward, somehow laying his hand on Naruto's shoulder even though he could not see it.

"I do understand, as while it is rare, it's not unheard of for new faces to join the Outcasts. If I may ask, what was it that caused you to run? The fact you do not want to give a name says that there may be people looking for you…" The old man asked, his voice gentle and kind as he spoke to Naruto, though not patronizing, which Naruto was grateful for.

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes moved to each of the adults and teenagers in front of him, still very much aware that Furui's hands were still on his shoulder.

"I unlocked a new bloodline that forces me to…eat Souls for sustenance." Naruto managed to get out, his voice somewhat strained as he gave out information that he was not totally comfortable sharing.

He didn't miss the surprised looks that crossed Kyojin and Shapu's faces when he said this, though both were quick to hide it. However it was Furui's reaction to his words that got the most of his attention, as a small frown crossed his lips as his head tilted slightly to the side, as if he was listening to something only he could hear. But it was replaced with another smile as he pulled his hand away, giving a small understanding nod as he did so.

"I see, yes that would defiantly put you in with us Outcasts. Few people would be understanding to your situation, but you have nothing to fear of those among us. You are not the first that has special needs, and I doubt you will be the last. But enough talk for now, we must be leaving. It is a two day walk to the camp, and these old bones need to get moving before they seize up."

Furui gave a light chuckle as he said the last part, before make exaggerated groans and slow movements as he turned to start walking off into the mist.

The others were quick to follow the older man's lead.

 **( - )**

As they walk Naruto noted that there seemed to be no consistency with the mist around the Land of Water, they could be walking without being able to see an inch in front of them one moment, only for it to suddenly clear enough to suddenly see hundreds of metres into the distance the next.

Naruto spent most of the first day simply following behind the rest of the group and keeping quiet, this was mainly as he was not sure what he could talk about with people that had spent their whole lives as Outcasts. Naruto coming from a privileged background as he son of Konoha's leader did make it harder to relate to people who have spent their entire lives in constant struggle. Victor even though he had never met any of them before today, seemed to have things in common with the three other Outcasts, and Naruto had listened as they talked about good places to set up camp around the Elemental Nations.

However while he didn't speak to them himself Naruto did take the time to observe each of the adults as they walked, taking note of different things he was sure would be good to remember.

Kyojin the big tattooed man didn't seem to talk much; instead he seemed to much prefer giving short answers or grunts when someone asked him a question. He also had a fire affinity, something that Naruto had learned after Victor asked the giant of a man for a light, to which he had simply grunted before holding out his hand toward the member of the Frankenstein Clan. With a click of his fingers Kyojin's tattoo's around his hands started to glow a soft red colour, before without a sound a small flame sprung to life on the end of his thumb. Which he had then used to light up Victor's cigarette, a nonchalant expression on his face as he did so, and a slight grunt as Victor flamboyantly thanked him.

Shapu however was without a doubt one of the clumsiest people Naruto had ever met or seen before, and seemed unable to go two minutes without tripping on something even if the ground at her feet was perfectly smooth. He had seen her actually walk into a tree at one point when she took off her goggles to clean them; only to draw her bow a moment later and somehow hit a rabbit two hundred meters ahead of them. When they had gotten closer Naruto was surprised to see that the arrow had hit it in the heart and killed it instantly, and he had quickly eaten the Soul as she strung the dead animal onto her belt to eat later.

Then there was Furui.

The first thing that Naruto noticed was that despite him not having any eyes the old man was more sure footed than any of them as they walked, and despite his earlier claims of being old he had been easily able to keep up with the rest of the group as they walked. The sound of both his wooden sandals and the bell at the end of his bo-staff seemed to echo slightly in the mist even over their voices, making it so that there was never a moment of complete silence. Like Naruto the man seemed to be simply listening to the others talking, though he would happily join in the conversation when it was directed at him,

Naruto was also convinced that Furui was the leader of the three Outcasts who had come to meet them, at least based on the way they were all interacting. The other two would continually look to the old man for instructions, and the moment he started speaking everyone else stopped to listen to his words. Even Victor showed the man more respect than Naruto thought his friends capable of.

Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something, but didn't voice it as they walked.

Eventually the sky had started to darken and their visibility was decreased even more as the cold night air brought in more mist, and soon after they were forced to set up camp for the night. They were able to find a fallen tree to set up next to so that it covered their backs both from the cold wind and potential attack, though the moisture in the air was already rotting it away, so how long their shelter would last was debatable.

Because of the mist the group had no need to worry about an enemy spotting their fire, which made the night much more comfortable than it would have been without a fire. How they actually made a fire though Naruto wasn't sure, as he very much doubted that there was a dry branch for miles, and had no wish to try and find any. Luckily one of the others seemed to know what they were doing, and after Shapu had finished setting up the fire with somewhat fry wood, Kyojin had lit it with his thumb again, and before long the small group was sat around the warm fire chatting quietly.

Naruto had sat himself slightly away from the group; not actually needing the warmth from the fire due to his abilities, or really feeling like it was his place to sit with them yet in the first place. However after a few minute of sitting with his back to the tree Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by Furui letting out a loud exaggerated groan as he sat next to him, the bell on the end of his staff giving one more ring as he leaned it against the log.

"You'll get sick sitting over here, you really should move closer to the fire." The old man said, his warm voice carrying over to Naruto.

Naruto was about to give a shrug, but realised that the action would be redundant and let out a sigh instead.

"I don't really feel the cold. I actually prefer it to heat and bright lights actually."

Furui just gave a small nod, humming his understanding. The two fell into silence for several minutes after that, Naruto looking to the older Outcast out of the corner of his eyes as he did so, while Furui just sat quietly with his head tilted to the side slightly.

Naruto watched as Furui pulled out a long smoking pipe from the inside of his robes, taking his time as he filled it with tobacco before also taking out a matchbox and lighting it. After that the old man leaned back and took several deep puffs, quietly blowing out smoke rings as he did so.

Eventually the silence was broken yet again as Furui shifted slightly so he was facing more in Naruto's direction. "So tell me, how much do you know about Outcasts and Rogue Clans? After all, you are one of us now; maybe I can help fill in a few of the blanks for you."

Slightly surprised by the man's generosity, Naruto shifted himself from where he was sitting against the tree, making it so he was facing more towards Furui, licking his lips slightly as he did so.

"Actually not much, I read a book about them but it was only general information and didn't go into anything specific. Victor's been explaining a few things to me though…mostly it was about his own Clan."

Upon hearing that Furui gave a small chuckle, before nodding his head slightly. "Yes, Victor does seem like a very talkative lad. Why don't I start with telling you about those in our little group, I'm sure you are curious?"

"That would be good, thank you."

Naruto watched as Furui gave him another smile, before setting himself down more comfortably against the tree he was leaning on and taking a moment to think before starting.

"Let's start with Shapu shall we? I am sure you have noticed that she is not what many would call…normal. Shapu is a member of the Katame Clan, who specialise in the use of their bows and long range combat. As you have no doubt noticed they are born with only one eye, but with that one eye they are able to see for miles ahead so long as nothing is obstructing there view. However because of this the members of the Katame Clan are very long sighted, which means they have trouble seeing things close up. That is why Shapu wears her goggles; they help her see nearby things around her. When the Hidden Villages were first created the Clan was well known for their phenomenal skill with bow and as scouts, but because of the issues with their sight they were also seen as 'defective' and were therefore not invited to join any of the growing Shinobi Villages."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing, for a whole Clan of skilled ninja to be written off because of a small weakness that was easily fixed by glasses. He had seen Shapu's skill with his own eyes, and could only imagine what those skills would do to an enemy. Every technique had a weakness, even if some were kept a better secret then others, why should Shapu's Clan have to suffer just because their weakness is slightly more obvious than other ones, weaknesses could be easily overcome, Shapu's goggles were an example of that.

Before Naruto could say anything in response to the old man's words, Furui continued.

"Next in our little group is Kyojin a member of the Okorimashita Clan…or as they are better known the Berserker Clan. The Okorimashita Clan were once one of the most feared Clans around, or at least they were before the Hidden Villages were founded, and many that still remember them continue to fear them to this day. They draw power from their anger and pain, using it to make themselves stronger in battle. Back during the Clan Wars a single member of the Okorimashita Clan could be seen fighting upwards of twenty enemies at once and utterly destroying them. However it is almost impossible for a member of the Clan to control themselves in battle, and they were unable sometimes unable to tell friend from enemy on the battlefield. This meant that whilst in their battle fuelled rage they would attack everyone and everything they could and so were seen as mindless beasts and were again not welcome when the Hidden Villages were formed."

Naruto couldn't help but look over to Kyojin at this point, watching as he tore into the rabbit he had been cooking over the fire. While the man was large and intimidating, Naruto still found it hard to picture a single man capable of fighting so many Shinobi at once. However at the same time, he could actually understand why his Clan might not have been welcome in the Hidden Villages even if he didn't like it. What use is a solider that can't tell the difference between friend and foe in battle after all?

"Victor and his clan you already have an idea about, so I guess that just leaves me. I am a member of the Buraindo Clan, and as I am sure you noticed already we are born without eyes. I have never seen, and neither has anyone else in my clan. However it was because of this that we learned ways to see without our eyes, enhancing and honing our other four senses to phenomenal levels. I can actually smell the forests of the Land of Fire clinging to your skin, more so then Victor after the two of you crossed it getting here. But our sense of hearing has always been the strongest, allowing those experienced enough to actually be able to see the world around us just by using sound waves bouncing off of objects like sonar. However one of the unforeseen side effects was the ability to be able to tell when someone is lying…"

Naruto felt himself stiffen slightly, suddenly very nervous and afraid of the man sat next to him as he continued talking.

"I can hear when the heart rate picks up which is a big indicator, but there are other tells that most do not or are incapable of perceiving. Like the slight increase of body heat that comes with nerves, the spike in certain pheromones to subtle for even those using chakra to sense normally, I can sense. All these things come together to tell us when someone is lying…like you were when you said you had unlocked a bloodline…"

Naruto was ready to bolt, just run off into the mist and hope he could lose the group. But before he could Furui grabbed him by the shoulder in an iron grip and held him in place, showing a surprising amount of strength for someone of his age.

"You don't need to run boy, I will not say anything. While you lied about the bloodline, you were also telling the truth about the Souls that much I know."

Naruto felt himself relax ever so slightly when he heard that, but that did not mean he fully let his guard down, he was still tensed and ready to run the moment Furui let go of his shoulder if he had to.

"I can't let people know about me…not yet. I need to be stronger before people know the truth." Naruto said his voice resolute as he turned to look at where Furui's eyes would have been, if he actually had any.

In response to his words Furui gave a small nod of acknowledgment, the hand on his shoulder turning more comforting and loosening slightly. It was still firmly held, but Naruto was sure he would be able to break it with a little effort now. Plus he also had his hatchet held at his belt, he had seen what he was capable of with a weapon when he was surprised and unprepared, he knew that if necessary he could do a lot of damage with his weapon, especially if he used his unique grayish chakra. After all if just touching it rotted away Victor's finger what would getting hit by a sharp weapon covered in the stuff do?

"I understand child, you have your reasons. It is your secret and you do not mean harm to us by keeping it, but I had to be sure. If you ever do feeling the need to talk about it though, know I will always be around to listen. I should also warn you there will be others in the camp able to tell the truth, both parts and even a few that may know exactly what you are. They will mean you no more harm than me, as long as you mean the rest of us no harm. As for the Rebels…so long as you prove yourself useful they will have no reason to cause trouble. Some of them are decent enough and can somewhat emphasis with our struggle; a few though are still mired in hate and hypocrisy."

With that Furui gave one more squeeze to Naruto's shoulder before using it to help himself to get back up to his feet, grabbing his staff as he did so. He calmly turned on his heel before making his way back over to the fire and leaving Naruto alone to his thoughts.

 **( - )**

The rest of the trip to the camp seemed to pass a lot more easily for Naruto after that night, the young blonde actually taken to talking with the others in the group more and stopped avoiding them like he had been doing before. He also got to know both Shapu and Kyojin a little more, and while they would never be best of friends with the age difference Naruto did now think of them as friends. So much so that he had been able to banter with them, though much of the amusement was about his mask and how badly made it currently was, which had amused Naruto a lot, and also convinced him that he might need to make another mask. After all it was suppose to not only hide his identity but also intimidate his enemies… turns out it was not so much intimidating as it was laughable.

He learned that Shapu and most of her clan tended to wander the Land of Lightening, the mountain terrain giving them plenty of high points to keep watch from, and apparently the views were beautiful when it wasn't too cloudy. She had also told him about how she liked to paint, and had shown Naruto a few of her paintings. Naruto had been a little shocked at just how lifelike the landscapes looked, and had first thought them to be photographs.

Kyojin really didn't talk much at first, until the subject turned to fighting. The giant of a man talked about the battles he had been in and the thrill it gave him, the way it felt to charge headfirst and meet his opponents. Naruto had never heard someone talk so passionately, of the honour it held. However the other subject that got Kyojin talking was his family, which surprised Naruto considering his love of battle.

Apparently he had both a wife and three children, two sons and a daughter. Apparently his oldest son and daughter were in the Land of Snow, another land in the middle of civil war even if not to the same scale as the Land of Water. Kyojin's youngest son was at the camp with his wife, and was apparently fourteen years old and named Kemono.

As it turned out Furui also had a family, and he spoke of them with nothing but love in his voice. Though apparently they were not with the camp, Naruto had asked where they were but Furui wouldn't say. He was also quite skilled at playing the Ocarina, and had even taken one out and played as they walked at one point. The music echoing eerily around them in the mist, making it impossible to pin point where it was it came from without actually seeing Furui playing it.

Apparently most of his Clan tended to wander the border of the Land of Rain, something about it helping them to move around.

Naruto didn't actually say anything about himself, not wanting to risk it. He did however explain a little more about what he could do, and showed them one of his Spirits.

However ask they came closer to the camps Naruto noticed the group turning more serious and subdued, even Victor stayed quiet for the most part. The mist had also been getting steadily thicker until it got to the point that they couldn't see further than a few feet in front of them, with the exception of Shapu who was leading them now.

Before long Naruto found himself at the back of the group with Victor, trying not to lose sight of Kyojin's back as the giant walked in front of them. As they walked along side by side the older boy started speaking.

"We have to pass by the Rebels camp to get to the Outcast camp, though we can't actually go through it. Just keep your head down and hood up, don't say anything if we are approached and let Furui do all the talking."

"Why, what's the worst that could happen?"

At his words Victor gave Naruto one of his rare serious looks, absently pulling out a cigarette and lighter from one of his pockets.

"We don't have a village to protect us kiddo; no one will come to help us if something goes wrong. Shinobi know that, and use it to their advantage. Now there are many who won't start anything either through fear or common decency. But there are a nasty few who have given into their intolerance and with the rebellion as strained as it is now, the leaders would be more than likely to sacrifice a few Outcasts if it meant keeping their army from infighting."

Naruto had been hearing that a lot lately, and every time it made him frown.

"Then why don't the Outcasts simple form their own village? You all seem to be able to communicate in some way or other to get the word out, why not all come together and take away that advantage?"

Naruto was a little surprised when instead of Victor, Furui answered him from in front of Kyojin. The large man was blocking him from view, but his voice easily reached him.

"Where would we set it up? What Daimyo would want a bunch of Outcasts setting up permanently in their Land? While there are civilians that would except us and even willingly help us, how would we find them? Sure together we could take most Lands without too much trouble and even look for people to help keep things running once we build it, but it would just get the other Hidden Villages attention and they would run us out before we could even get started. There is simple nowhere we could form a village."

Naruto stayed silent after the old man stopped talking; taking in everything he had been told. He supposed he was right; building up a village from scratch took time and manpower. While the manpower may not be a problem time always would, because the other Hidden Villages would see it as a threat and attack while they were not prepared to defend themselves. They needed somewhere that was isolated and highly defensible, but also somewhere that had a high civilian population, a Shinobi Village did not run on charity after all it ran on money. With the most immediate money that was available to them being from the civilians within their home country.

Naruto did have an idea, but there were many issues with that idea, some of which he very much doubted could be overcome, or at least not without significant help. Before he could think anymore on his thought though, something caught his attention, looking up he was surprised to find that they were no longer standing in the mist. Though when he looked back over his shoulder at the way they had come he could see it still there in a solid white wall.

Looking at the new scenery around them Naruto was surprised to see that they were actually already passing the Rebel Camp on their right, and another camp was ahead in the direction they were walking.

The Rebel Camp looked very militaristic; with orderly arranged tent in the same shapes as the buildings Naruto had seen back at the coastal village when they first arrived. All but five of the tents were the same size, with the other five being several times bigger and spaced out in such a way that they were as far as possible from each other while still being in the camp. Naruto also saw a lot of people moving around between the tents, most dressed in shades of blue and white ninja clothing with their Mist headbands tied either to their foreheads or around their arms.

He also didn't miss the way more than half the people in the camp were staring in his group's direction as they walked, and how some of them had started either frowning or outright glaring at them. Naruto even saw one or two of them with their hands on their weapons, as if preparing to attack. The dislike many of the rebels had for them was obvious, but as he looked at them he didn't see as much hate as he was expecting to see, if anything he could sense that the rebels were more filled with distrust and fear than any real malice.

Naruto just made an effort to keep his head down and stay with the group like Victor warned him to.

The group had almost passed the Rebel Camp when a middle aged man and a girl that looked to be in her late teens came out from it and blocked their path, making both Naruto and Victor tense slightly while the adults seemed completely at ease.

The man had pale blue hair that looked slightly spiky; he was wearing a dark grey turtleneck with a blue kimono which a white outline. He also had what looked like seal tags' hanging from each ear like earrings, and his right eye was covered by a black eye patch. He stood straight with little expression on his face other than a small frown that Naruto suspected was usually on his face, and the hooded blonde didn't miss how the man's one visible eye moving over to him and Victor before moving back to Furui who had now moved to the front of the group.

The girl had long reddish/brown hair that covered her right eye, and a knot tied on the top of her head. She was dressed in a very revealing dark blue kimono that showed off her curves and left her shoulders bare, giving the slightest view of the mesh shirt she wore under it. Unlike the man's face she looked a lot more relaxed and Naruto could see the playful smirk on her face, her eyes just like the man who accompanied her were also taking in the two newest and youngest members of the group, before they turned back to Furui.

"Good to see you back Furui, and you even brought two new little cuties back with you." The red haired woman said, her soft lilting tone carrying a note of both amusement and warmth to it that Naruto had not been expecting.

Furui just gave a slight chuckle, shifting his staff from one hand to the other, making the bell on the end of his staff ring as he did so. Naruto knew that he did it purposefully to send out a wave of sound so he could assess his surroundings, though looking at his face it looked like he knew who the two people were anyway.

"Mei, a pleasure as always. I assume you have a reason for stopping us other than to say hello, we have spent the last two days walking after all." Furui said his voice holding a certain amount of warmth as he replied to the now named Mei.

Despite the easy way the two were talking, Naruto could see the other people inside the camp were watching them tensely. It didn't take Naruto long to realise that this Mei was someone important, and that the man with the eye patch was her bodyguard.

Though the two seem to either not notice or care about the people watching them as Mei gave a nod of her head and her smirk dropped a little into a more serious expression.

"I'm afraid so. We were able to capture one of Yagura's Shinobi while you were gone; we are going to need you there for his interrogation to make sure he is telling the truth."

"Of course, I completely understand. Why don't you lead the way why while my friends here go on and get the new blood settled in." The old man responded, seemingly not surprised by her request, this clearly having been asked of him many times before.

"Of course."

Furui had only take two steps to follow them when he paused for a moment, before turning around so that he was 'looking' in Naruto's direction with his sightless eyes. The old man seemingly thinking something over as he sightlessly assessed Naruto. His pause quickly got the other two Shinobi's attention and they too turned and stopped to wait for him, looking from the old man to Naruto but not saying a word.

Eventually a small smirk spread across Furui's face before he motioned for Naruto to come over to him, moving the hooded blonde in front of him and holding his shoulder when he did before turning to look back at the woman.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea for my new friend to join us; he has skills that may be able to help us get information."

While the man showed no other reaction then to frown slightly, Naruto saw Mei's visible eyebrow lift slightly as she looked him over a contemplative look on her face.

"Is he another member of the Dorima Clan? Because it is still early to get them involved yet, we haven't even started questioning him."

"No, he is not from the Dorima Clan. He is something different.. _._ "

Seeming to take a moment to examine him more closely or at least examine what she could see of with his hood up, Mei finally gave one more look to Furui before smiling and giving a nod.

"Very well, I'll show you where we are keeping him if you are sure."

As she turned away Furui leaned down slightly so he could whisper in Naruto's ear, making sure he wouldn't be overheard.

"Remember what I said about showing yourself to be useful, this is your chance."

 **( - )**

 **AN : So I hope you all enjoyed the story, and I hope you leave a review or a comment.**

 **We are beginning to get more into the story now, so I hope you are all excited for what is to come. I have some good ideas, and I hope that you will like them as much as I do.**

 **See you next time.**

 **Seagate**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN : Alright so here is the next chapter I hope you all like it, there are some pretty interesting things in it and a few references which I will be surprised if anyone gets.**

 **As always I do not own Naruto, this was a disclaimer, I don't know whether I keep needing to do this but I do anyway as a lot of the other tings I read do a similar kind of thing.**

 **So anyway I hope you all enjoy and leave comments/ reviews etc.**

 **Now onto the next chapter.**

 _ **(Last Time)**_

 _Furui had only take two steps to follow them when he paused for a moment, before turning around so that he was 'looking' in Naruto's direction with his sightless eyes. The old man seemingly thinking something over as he sightlessly assessed Naruto. His pause quickly got the other two Shinobi's attention and they too turned and stopped to wait for him, looking from the old man to Naruto but not saying a word._

 _Eventually a small smirk spread across Furui's face before he motioned for Naruto to come over to him, moving the hooded blonde in front of him and holding his shoulder when he did before turning to look back at the woman._

 _"Perhaps it would be a good idea for my new friend to join us; he has skills that may be able to help us get information."_

 _While the man showed no other reaction then to frown slightly, Naruto saw Mei's visible eyebrow lift slightly as she looked him over a contemplative look on her face._

 _"Is he another member of the Dorima Clan? Because it is still early to get them involved yet, we haven't even started questioning him."_

 _"No, he is not from the Dorima Clan. He is something different.._ _ _.__ _"_

 _Seeming to take a moment to examine him more closely or at least examine what she could see of with his hood up, Mei finally gave one more look to Furui before smiling and giving a nod._

 _"Very well, I'll show you where we are keeping him if you are sure."_

 _As she turned away Furui leaned down slightly so he could whisper in Naruto's ear, making sure he wouldn't be overheard._

 _"Remember what I said about showing yourself to be useful, this is your chance."_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 7- The Outcasts**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto made sure to stay close to Furui as they were led through the camp, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings as he carefully made his way through the cramped corridors in between the camp's tents. He put effort into trying to avoid tripping on any of the guy lines that crisscrossed their path as they moved their way through the encampment. The camp seemed to be set up like an organised maze, with the majority of the tents being made to look exactly the same so it was impossible to know what was in which, as well as also making navigation difficult by removing anything that could be used as a reference point.

On top of that was the fact that there were armed ninja at every turn, watching their every move with several of the more cautious Shinobi lightly fingering their weapons as they kept an eye on the strangers in the camp. It was more than a little unnerving for Naruto, but every time he hesitated Furui was always there to give him a small nudge and a light squeeze on the shoulder before anyone noticed. Despite the fact it should have been impossible to find their way around the camp, Mei was leading them with a confident stride that showed she knew exactly where they were going.

After almost fifteen minutes of walking, they came to a stop outside of one of the tents; this one however unlike the other similar ones they had passed, had two grim looking Shinobi standing outside it acting as guards, which Naruto cynically thought to himself the only made the thing stand out more from the others around it. Naruto was fairly sure they had been led in several circles throughout the camp before they came to a stop in front of this tent, which was probably done to make sure they were lost, Naruto was after all a new and untested recruit.

The two guards outside the tent snapped to attention as Mei moved to stand in front of them, before the both of them walked away when she gave them slight a nod of the head. When the two were out of sight she turned back to Furui, only for her eyes to move down to look at Naruto, a gentle smile spreading across her face as she knelt down to his level and laid her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Ok sweetie, Furui says you will be able to help us convince the man inside this tent to answer our questions. So I want you to tell me what you will be doing?"She asked her voice kind, yet holding a note of firmness to it which revealed to Naruto that this was a woman who was used to giving orders and having them obeyed.

Naruto however upon hearing that frowned under his mask before shrugging the hand off of him. He knew it might come across as slightly petulant or childish, but at the same time he didn't travel all the way here to be treated like a child, he came here to grow stronger, which was something he wouldn't be able to do if he allowed people to talk down to him.

However instead of deliberately calling her out on it, Naruto stood silently and stared at her from under his hood with his baleful blue eyes. After a few minutes passed Mei's smile turned back into a smirk as she stood up, seeming to be satisfied with something, though Naruto wasn't sure exactly what it was.

Deciding he just wanted to get it over with so that he could rest and get himself settled into the Outcast Camp, Naruto spoke in a quiet voice that would be too low for any would-be eavesdroppers trying to listen in to hear. "What do you need to know?"

His question got a raised eyebrow, but the older woman seemed to take it in stride as she just gave him a casual shrug of the shoulders. "Anything that might be of use."

"Do you need him alive after you get the information?" Was Naruto's bland reply, a response which got a raised eyebrow from both Mei and her bodyguard, the two of them clearly quite surprised by such a young boy asking such a question.

"No, once we have the information he will be killed anyway…why?" Mei said carefully, her gaze once again on Naruto only this time it was more cautious and assessing.

Instead of answering Naruto gave a silent nod, motioning Mei to lead the way inside the tent. While still looking curious, Mei turned to the man with the eye patch who upon meeting her eyes pulled the flap of the tent back without a word and held it for them to walk through.

The first thing Naruto noticed when he walked into the tent was the fact it was almost completely empty, with nothing inside other than a man tied to a chair in the middle of the space, and a desk with blank paper covering it and a pen in the corner. Said man looked to have been on the wrong end of an earth Jutsu, his clothes were torn and covered in dirt. With the only clothing that wasn't damaged being the Mist Headband on that was on his head. The prisoner was also covered in a number of injuries, with a both of his eyes blackened and swollen shut and several of his yellow teeth missing.

However other than his sorry state, there was nothing much else about him that would make him stand out in a crowd. He had short brown hair and brown…eyes, he was neither muscled nor skinny. In fact looking at him everything about the man just seemed plain and bland.

Naruto stayed back in the shadows as the three adults moved to stand in front of the Mist-Nin, choosing to remain unseen for the moment as he instead just watched the proceedings. The moment the prisoner saw them the Mist-nin's battered face twisted into a sneer and he tried lean back and spit at Mei, only to fail and have it fall in a dribble down his chin.

"Fucking freaks, I'm not saying anything to you creatures. I'll die before I talk!" The man snarled out, his speech slightly garbled by his injuries but his words still quite understandable to everyone in the room. What wasn't understandable however was who he was speaking to, was he speaking to the bloodline users or the Outcasts?

Naruto didn't know if there could have been a better moment for him to make himself known, and smirked under his mask as he stepped forward to stand between Mei and Furui.

"That can be arranged…I'm hungry." As intimidating lines go it was probably a good one, or at least it would have if it did not come out of the mouth of a ten year old who was wearing a mask that looked more clownish than intimidating.

For all of three seconds after he moved forward to treveal himself there was silence, before it was broken by the Mist-nin suddenly bursting out into insane laughter as he looked a the short figure of Naruto.

"HAHAHA! Are you kidding me! You're getting a brat to interrogate me now? HAHAHA!" The man shouted, his strained and high pitched voice carrying slight, as he continued to guffaw, or at least as much as was possible while being tied to a chair.

Instead of answering the man and before anyone else could do anything, Naruto pulled out the knife he had got from Itachi and with a step forward and a single arm movement he used it to slash the Mist-nin's throat. There was a spray of blood from the cut, as instead of being a precise cut aimed at making a kill as clean as possible it he had instead just slashed the man, the blood that sprayed out of the man's now gaping neck covered Naruto, the blood hitting his mask and dripping down it. The ghastly sight certainly made Naruto's mask look more intimidating. But Naruto ignored the blood as it dripped down from his mask and soaked into his coat, instead he just wiped the blood off his knife and returned it to his sheath, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened.

 **( - )**

 **(With Mei)**

"Wait."

The only thing that stopped Mei or Ao from jumping forward when they saw the boy pull out his knife was Furui holding out his arm and telling them to wait.

Torture was a common practice in the Elemental Nations, a necessary evil. In fact before hearing that Furui had returned they had been beating the Mist-nin in an attempt to get him to talk, though with little success. Shinobi were conditioned after all to resist torture, which made breaking them and getting information very difficult, and any information they did get was always suspect as it could just be made up. This was why upon hearing of the return of Furui to the camp; Mei had put the interrogation on hold so that he could lend his assistance to the task.

Mei didn't like the idea of a child being involved with an interrogation, or war in general for that matter. The only reason she had agreed to allow him to come now was because she trusted Furui, and if the man claimed the boy had skills that could help them, then she was willing to give it a try. After all they were in the middle of a civil war with their home village, a war against the tyranny of the Mizukage Yagura and his targeting and purging of the Shinobi Bloodlines in the Land of Water.

But even if she did allow him to be here, she certainly didn't expect him to just kill the man, you couldn't get information from the dead after all.

Mei was one of a growing number of the Rebels who had no issues with the Lone-nin, or as she had learned they preferred to be called, the Outcasts. While she like many others held fear of what several of them could do, she understood that it would be hypocritical of her to hate them while fighting a war against a madman trying to kill them for having Bloodline Limits. It was an opinion a large proportion of the Rebels had, after all as the war stretched on and they continued to work more closely with the Outcasts, bonds of comradeship had begun to form, and the hypocrisy of their hate had begun to become clear to them.

Though honestly although she accepted them she was still somewhat unnerved by some of them, but even so Mei made the effort not to judge, something she knew more and more of her commanders and soldiers were also starting to do.

But even then not all of the Outcasts had originally been hated for what they could do, but because of their refusal to join the any of the Hidden villages. Many of the Rogue Clans that had originally been refused when the Hidden Villages were first formed had simple been misunderstood, most not knowing about the intricacies of their abilities at the time.

The people setting up villages had been looking for perfection, and anyone that seemed to be anything less than perfect were not welcome as they were thought of as dead weight.

Such as the Katame Clan, who had been rejected for the flaw of having bad eyesight up close? All it took as a special pair of glasses and they were no different than any other ninja that needed glasses, but the short sightedness of the Shinobi of old had blinded them to the potential of many such Clans.

By the time any of the Hidden Villages realised their mistake it was too late, and none of the Outcasts wanted anything to do with the people that had rejected them. Then there were the Clans and Shinobi that refused to join any village from the beginning, which just left a bad taste in many mouths.

Mei wasn't even sure if people remembered why they had originally started hating the Outcasts anymore. Which is why she had taken the time to get to know them as humans, learning about who they were and what they could do as she did so.

Unfortunately some people weren't too happy about this, which had forced her to set up strict rules to prevent some of her own people rebelling against her out of spite. She couldn't risk anyone from either side acting out against the other, so tried to keep them separated as much as possible. After the war was over when the need for soldiers and strict order was not as necessary, she could change the rules. But for now it was for the best to keep them separated, that way there would be no distractions caused by the more prejudiced members of the Rebellion.

Mei was well aware that as things were at the moment the Outcasts were the only thing keeping them going at this point in the war, they were simple too outnumbered and outgunned to fight Yagura without their help. This reliance on the Outcasts was part of the reason some of the more hot tempered members of the Rebellion were being so hostile, they way they saw it this was a Rebellion that should be fought and won by Mist Shinobi, and as such they were only tolerant of the Outcasts so long as they proved to be useful regularly. The others though were thankful for the help but due to the tension of the issue were not comfortable bringing it up. As it was their Rebellion had begun gaining more traction, as more and more Outcasts and rebel Mist Shinobi joined the cause.

Gritting her teeth and aiming a slight glare at the old man, Mei tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her to just push pass him. The only thing that stopping her being the respect he had earned though her patience was wearing thin.

"He just killed our prisoner before we could even get any information out of him." Mei said her anger rising as she glared at Furui, forgetting momentarily that the old man didn't actually have any eyes.

The response Mei wasn't expecting was for the old man to let a light chuckle escape lips at her words, even as he slowly and carefully placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. His tone warm as he spoke in response to her anger. "My dear I can tell you now that death is only the beginning when it comes this young man here."

Mei had no idea what that meant. However when she finally turned her attention back to the boy Mei felt her mind come to a stop, her eyes widening in shock as she saw what he was doing.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto would have liked to have given the man a quicker death, but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to stab through his chest and into the heart. There was the brain, but if he hit the wrong spot it could also make it more painful, so instead he had gone with the only choice he was sure would work. A slash to the throat, he was sure it would be quick, but what he didn't know was that it would be so messy.

Naruto took no joy in slow deaths, even for enemies like he was sure this Mist-nin was. If they deserved a slow and painful death then he knew that You would take care of them when they came to him, his counterpart being much more sadistic than him, Naruto saw no reason to make it harder, of course that is only for the Souls that he devours, what happens to those that go to the actual Shinigami he really did not want to know.

He could hear Furui and the other two adults behind him talking, but Naruto didn't listen to them. He was putting all his focus on the dying man in front of him, making sure he was watching as the light left his eyes. No matter what the man had done in his life, Naruto felt it important that he at the very least acknowledged his passing…especially when he was the one that ended the man's life.

And then there it was, a Soul forming in front of him above the man's chests. It was smaller than he was expecting, and from what he could see more than half of it was covered in black spots. The black spots that he had come to realise meant corruption, of one's soul.

Slowly he put his hand out channeling chakra into it as he did so; reaching out Naruto grabbed the Soul and turned to the three reminding adults in the tent with him. He wanted Mei and the man with the eye patch to see what he was holding, and what he was going to do with it. The moment he saw both their eyes widen in shock and confusion as they saw what was in his hand, Naruto opened his mouth wide and pushed the Soul into his gaping maw.

As he felt the Soul going down his throat and being absorbed by his body, he once again felt that rush of energy and the rapid flashing images that momentarily appeared in his head. He then closed his eyes and took a moment to concentrate, his body thrumming pleasantly with the added power he had just acquired.

Naruto and You had found that they were able to talk without Naruto needing to enter his mind, but neither was as used to it. It shouldn't have really been surprising that they could communicate like this, after all they were two personalities that shared the same soul and body.

Five minute of concentration later Naruto opened his eyes and without a word or glance at the others in the tent walked over to the table and started writing down everything he now knew, though he didn't write down the Jutsu. After all that information might be more useful later, so he would write them down in private. You had gotten the information to him quite easily, the boy taking time out of whatever it is he usually did to sort through the two months worth of memories they had just acquired from the Mist Shinobi, absorbing his thoughts, feelings etc. though You did take it upon himself to remove one or two of the more unpleasant memories and discard them, after all the memory of murdering a baby was not something anyone should see.

"What was that?" Mei asked as Naruto turned away from the table where he had just written down what he had found out from the man.

"Just my Bloodline" Naruto replied calmly, his tone firm as he refused to say anymore than that.

"And just what is your Bloodline?" Ao the man with the eye patch inquired, his tone a lot more rattled that Mei's as he showed how clearly unnerved he was by Naruto's ability

"I have the ability to see people's memories." Naruto replied, deciding that using a half truth to explain away his particular skill set may be better than lying. Already he was regretting making such a show out of it. The thing he had told them was an aspect of his ability and so it was not a lie, however judging from the expressions on their faces they knew it was not the full truth.

It took another two hours before Naruto and Furui were allowed to leave, though Mei and the eye patched man still weren't happy to let them go. They both had wanted to know just what Naruto had done and how he was able to see the enemy Shinobi's memories, but neither the blonde nor Furui would answer anything but the basics and eventually they had no other choice but to let them leave.

They had the information they wanted, though Naruto was sure they would be checking it several times before they trusted him. If nothing else Naruto had proved he was useful for now, even if what he could do clearly made people…uncomfortable.

The eye patch man led them out of the camp this time, leaving them the moment they reached the edge and pointing them towards where the Outcast's had set up their camp.

 **( - )**

The first thing that Naruto noticed when they got closer to the Outcast Camp was just how…different, it looked to the Rebellion Camp. Where the Rebels had arranged everything perfectly military and uniform, the Outcasts Camp looked like a mixture of different camps that had been clumsily pushed together. Few tents looked the same, all different styles, sizes and shapes. But even the ones that did look the same weren't together; they were all spread out in a seemingly random pattern.

But the moment Furui led him into the actually camp itself; Naruto couldn't help but stare in amazement at the people walking around and between the tents. As they passed a dark purple tent Naruto saw a man sitting outside on the ground that seemed to have fallen asleep, the man had dark skin and coppery coloured hair.

Naruto saw two women and three children all dressed in animal skins with the head of said animals acting as hoods/masks with their green eyes glinting slightly in darkness as night crept in, the small family was all crouched around a roaring fire pit, with any exposed skin they had covered in white paint. All but one of them was wearing a wolf skin, with the exception being one of the women who was wearing what looked like a bear skin.

As Furui saw him glancing in their direction he explained that they were the Nabarah Clan, a clan of skin changers, who were able to use the skins of animals to turn into said animals. But not in the way of a Henge, they were able to physically wear the hide like a second skin. They were a Clan famed for their infiltration and assassination abilities, but who were feared for the macabre nature of their ability.

Carrying on through the Camp, Naruto also saw his travelling companion Kyojin standing outside a very large brown tent with a woman the blond could only assume was his wife and several other members of his Clan. Like Kyojin they all seemed to wear the bare minimum amount of clothing, and their bodies were covered in tribal tattoos. Though Naruto did notice that one of the men's tattoos was brown and another's tattoos were blue for some reason instead of red like Kyojin's.

As he continued on through the Outcast Camp he also saw several members of Shapu's clan as well, all who had their bows and arrows close by and at the ready.

They passed one tent that looked like it had been made into a blacksmith, with a furnace built outside that was being constantly fed to keep it hot. Naruto was a little surprised to see a group of ten men moving around it at a fast pass, yet not getting in any of the others way, to Naruto they looked to be moving in perfect synchronicity. However the most surprising thing about it though, was the fact that all the men couldn't have been taller than three foot at the most, with several of the men being even shorter than that.

He didn't even need to look Furui's way to get an explanation from the old man this time; a he explained that they were members of the Gungnir Clan, a Clan which produced masters of craftsmanship, with the weapons they produce being known as some of the finest in the land, beyond even weapons from the Land of Iron in terms of quality and strength. Unfortunately though their Clan was rejected entrance into the Hidden Cloud Village during the formation of the villages, apparently the fact that every member of the Clan always suffered from dwarfism was enough of a turn off for the Clan to be refused entrance.

Even while living in the Hidden Leaf Naruto had never seen so many different people in one place, and based on the way they were all interacting and greeting each other everyone got along just fine. Hardly anyone even turned to look in their direction as they passed other than to wave at Furui before going back to whatever it was they were doing before, barley even glancing at Naruto as he walked along besides Furui.

There was also an air of calmness that wasn't felt at the Rebel Camp, where their seemed to be a constant tension in the air, Naruto found that he liked the more chilled out atmosphere of the Outcast Camp than the more rigid atmosphere of the Rebel Camp.

"Hey! What took you so long?" A voice said suddenly interrupting Naruto from his thoughts.

Jumping slightly as he was brought out of his thoughts, Naruto turned to see Victor waving at him from a tent in front of them with his usual insane grin on his face. The tent itself actually made Naruto think of his friend in that it looked to have been patched together out of several different tents, and not all of them were the same colour.

However the thing that really caught Naruto's attention was the woman next to Victor and the…thing that stood next to her.

It had the basic shape of a man, though was twice the size of Kyojin in both height and width. It was wearing clothes that just like the tent they were stood in front of were patched together, only without sleeves, most likely because no one would make clothes for something that size. Its skin was a dull grey colour and had more scars then even Victor, and its head looked a little too small for the rest of its body. It was also bald, though that was mostly because its head looked like it was made of metal with the skin bolted to it in several places.

Its arms were also too long even though they were just as muscular as the rest of its body with a pair of giant bolts sticking out of its shoulders, and the way it stood made it looked to have the posture of a gorilla with its arms being used to walk more than its legs. Instead of hands the thing had blade like appendages grafted on to its limbs.

Overall it looked more like a zombie then Victor… as it looked like it had been made from several different bodies being sewn together. To Naruto who was probably not even five feet tall, the monstrous twelve almost thirteen foot abomination was absolutely terrifying.

The woman Naruto strangely enough was relieved to find looked more like Victor, including the scars and wiry grey hair that was sticking up in every direction while still falling to her shoulders. She looked older than Victor, probably in her mid-twenties, and just like his friend she wore a patchwork lab coat and she even had a similar looking shovel on her back just like his friend. However the thing that really stood out about the woman was her right hand, it looked to be made of metal and was several sizes too big compared to the rest of her body. Instead of fingers Naruto saw what looked like giant needles that could have been used as senbon, and he also noticed that there was ninja wire running up from each finger into her sleeve. Looking at it closely it looked like a more sophisticated version of Victor's weaponized bracers. Though also for some reason Naruto couldn't help but be reminded of a sewing machine as he looked at it.

As they got closer Victor came running up to Naruto, the woman following along behind him at a slower pace while the giant…thing stayed behind and stared off into space with a blank look on its face. When the two were standing in front of him Victor was practically bouncing in place as he pointed to the woman.

"This is my third cousin Gekai, on my dad's left big toes side…I think…something like that, or was it on my arm's mother's side…. Anyway Gekai this is the friend I was telling you about, you know the one that eats Souls, I still don't have a name for him though…"

Naruto ignored the pointed look Victor sent him with the last comment and took the hand Gekai offered him in a firm shake, thankful that it was her more normal left hand. Now that she was closer Naruto also notice that she lacked the slightly maniacal gleam that Victor had in his eyes, instead she looked more calculating only without any coldness.

"Nice to meet you, hope Victor isn't being too much trouble." The woman said her soft smoky voice at odds with her flamboyant appearance.

Naruto could only give her a blank expression that could even be seen through his mask, making Gekai give a quiet sigh before noticing that the giant was still by the tent. Turning around with a frown she shouted out in a slightly louder voice that probably only just carried over to the monstrous thing. "Hey Chunk get your arse over here!"

The moment Gekai spoke the now identified 'Chunk' started slowly moving towards them, each step making a loud thud and leaving an indent in the ground, the beast making strange groaning noises as it moved. It came to a stop right behind the grey haired woman, but didn't say anything. After a moment he opened his mouth but instead of speaking, a large glob of drool dripped out and fell right on top of Gekai's head.

"Chunk what the hell! I told you to stop doing that! This is the third time today and I am tired of washing my hair every few minutes!" The woman said her face screw up in irritation as she gave the beast a light punch to the thigh, which was incidentally the highest point the woman could reach on the beast.

Naruto blinked slightly in surprise at seeing what had just happened, before a look of understanding crossed his masked face.

'Well…that explained her hair.' Naruto thought in amusement.

Blinking as he watched the older woman start yelling at the giant Chunk, Naruto turned to Victor only to see him giggling behind his hands.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Who Chunk? He's one of Gekai's 'Corpse Dolls' or as they are sometimes called 'Abominations', it's one of my Clan's unique Bloodline Jutsu. Basically you build a body out of spare parts, then use a fuck load of Lightening Chakra to give it a jumpstart. They aren't the smartest and it would be an insult to wood to say they were as dumb as it, but if you know what you're doing they are strong and come in handy."

Naruto wasn't sure what to think about that, though when he turned back to look at Gekai, only to see her still yelling at Chunk for drooling on her head he couldn't stop the sweat drop from running down the back of his head. Looking more closely Naruto used the ability he had decided to call his 'Death Sense', as he used it he could feel the Souls and life force of everything around him, looking at the hulking Chunk he could see that it contained life, but upon closer examination he could see nothing resembling a Soul contained within it. Blinking Naruto stop using his sensory ability and instead looked at the monstrosity before him in shock, he had never before seen a living being without a Soul, and he was glad as for someone like Naruto it was incredibly unnerving.

Eventually deciding to just ignore it for now, Naruto turned back to Furui who had been standing quietly for the last few minutes with a smile on his face, as he watched the ongoing shenanigans of the Outcasts new and old occasionally chuckling in amusement as he heard Gekai's smoky voice raised in annoyance as she shouted at the oblivious Chunk.

"So ermm… Furui where can I set up my tent? I have one stored in a sealing scroll so I just need to set it up and I'm good." Naruto said a slightly nervous note in his voice as he saw Furui turn to look at him; it wasn't Furui that made him nervous, no his nervousness was caused by the potential that he might be rejected.

The old man took a moment to think about it, before nodding to himself and walking off in a seemingly random direction, Naruto following along behind him.

"If I remember correctly, there is a space between Hodan and Clementine's tents in the northern section of the camp. I'm sure you will be able to get along just fine with both, though I should warn you Hodan is also known as Cannonball around here… and Clementine… well you'll see."

Not sure he understood but still willing to follow, Naruto gave a quick wave to Victor who would no doubt be staying with his Clansman, one of the few dozen left in existence or at least that was what Victor had said. With a quick shout of 'see you later' to Victor Naruto turned on his heel and ran to catch up with the surprisingly spry old blind man.

 **( - )**

As the night began to close in and the sky became darker and darker, Furui led Naruto to the other side of the camp where he would be living for the foreseeable future. The old man soon came to a stop just in front of two tents that had what looked like a decent sized gap between them. The tent of the right looked normal enough and was made from a plain brown material, though there were a number of dark stains on the fabric, the tent looked like it could hold at least five people with ease. There was also a foot wide pole stuck into the ground that reached high into the air, easily higher than any of the tents in the camp. It was a large contrast to the tent on the left, which looked to have been patched back together even more times than Gekai's tent had been.

Before Naruto could even think to comment on either however, Furui grabbed his shoulder in a tight grip and pulled him three steps to the right.

 **BANG!**

This action was soon followed by a loud banging sound; the sound was soon followed by a fast moving something that came shooting out of the tent on the left at high speeds and right through the space where Naruto had previously been stood.

The blur carried on and cut through three other tents, much to the annoyance of the owners of said tents, before a member of the Okorimashita Clan, a great beast of a man with a bald head and brown tattoos move to stand in its way and used his own body to bring it to a stop. As the man took a step forward the brown tattoos on his body began to glow, this was soon followed by the earth around him lifting into the air and covering his body like a second skin. His earth 'armour' in place the man reached forward to stop the swiftly moving blur, catching it in his arms he was pushed back about a foot, but no more than that before the blur fell to the ground with a…groan.

Now that it had stopped moving Naruto could see that the blur had actually been a guy in his mid-teens, who was slowly pulling himself up a sheepish expression on his face as he started apologising to everyone around him.

The teen looked to be of around average height for his age, with a lean build that was normal for a Shinobi. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit that looked to have extra padding on the outside, with a pair of fingerless gloves that seemed to be attached to the jumpsuit. Naruto also noticed that the boy was wearing boots instead of Shinobi sandals, and that the boots the teen was wearing were huge and looked to be coated in metal. His strange ensemble was finished off by a metal helmet he wore on his head. There was also a pair of tinted goggles that covered his eyes, and the beginning of a beard on his lower face.

"That's Hodan, and like I said he is better known as Cannonball. He's not actually part of a Rogue Clan, but instead he is from a small village in Earth Country. From what I understand he was… _asked_ , to leave after knocking down a few houses because of his ability, it got to the point that he had to make a run for the border before the Hidden Rock could take him."

Naruto listened to Furui as the old man talked his eyes on the now named Hodan as he watched the teen starting to help to fix the tents he had knocked over while continually apologizing over and over to anyone who would listen.

"What was that exactly, I've never heard of anything like that happening…?" Naruto asked his forehead scrunched in confusion as he tried to work out just what the boy's ability was, he had already seen the results of the 'cannonballs' ability now he just wanted to know what it actually was.

"And before meeting you, I had never heard of someone that could eat Souls. Things like this happen more often than people think, new Jutsu are created through trial and error or even accident. New Bloodlines can appear randomly, going unnoticed for years. Eventually most find their way to Outcast camps like this, the same way you yourself did. It's no secret that the Hidden Villages across the Elemental Nations have a habit of trying to collect people like that, many becoming breeding stock or worse."

Naruto wasn't sure what to think to this news, being the son of the Hokage. He knew there were parts of the job his father never talked to them about, but Naruto just couldn't even imagine his father ordering something like that. But then again, how many times had he heard Minato talking about needing to put the needs of the village above all else. It had become a saying he would use when trying to explain why he had done something.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Naruto turned back to the empty plot between the two tents and pulled out his sealing scroll. Furui said a quick goodbye before walking off, telling him that if he needed anything to come and ask before disappearing between the tents.

He had just finished organising everything ready to put the tent up when a voice to his right caught his attention.

"Not enough one, why must that old man keep sending brats in my direction. I mean first it was that rock head Hodan, and now it is some little kid wearing a clown mask." A voice said interrupting Naruto from what he had been about to do.

Turning around Naruto caught sight of the speaker, in front of him was a young blond hair girl that looked around Naruto's own age. The girl was a slim with shoulder length blonde hair and pink eyes, the most unnerving thing about the girl though was the look on her face as she spoke, it was the kind of look a predator would give her prey.

"Hey come on now don't be so harsh to the new kid." Hodan said as he approached a wary look on his face as he looked at the blonde girl. As the boy came closer more of his feature began to stick out, he had removed his helmet to show he had short brown hair that already looked as if it was beginning to thin. He also had brown eyes that at this moment were switching back and forth between looking at Naruto in concern and at the girl in slight fear.

"Did it look like I was talking to you boulder brain." The girl snapped as she turned to face Hogan, the smile on her face if anything getting bigger, which only seemed to unnerve the older boy more.

"Come on Clementine I wa…" The boy began to say as he backtracked slightly, looking around Naruto noticed that a small crowd of Outcasts were beginning to form to watch the entertainment. Before the boy could finish what he was about to say he was interrupted by the girl, who in a rapid blur of motion appeared right in front of Hogan a look of anger now on her face, with what had once been a pleasant smile turning into a malicious smirk.

Moving almost too fast for Naruto to see the blonde girl drove a fist into the older boy's gut, now in normal circumstances the idea of a little girl doing that to a boy twice her size would be laughable. Unfortunately for Hogan these were not normal circumstances as with slight choking sound the boy had the breath knocked out of him and collapsed onto the floor. The reaction this received from the crowd was one of amusement as they cheered the younger girl on, some part of Naruto thought that they might still be pissed off about their damaged tents.

"I've told you before, and I will tell you again boulder face. The name is Lady Clementine, the Inhuman Lady Clementine!" The girl said grandly as she bowed slightly to the crowd, gaining a few chuckles and cheers from the crowd as she did so.

"Sorry Lady Clementine." Hogan gasped out from where he lying on the floor in a fetal position.

"You are forgiven I suppose." The girl Clementine said before she turned back around to face Naruto, her pinks eyes gleaming slightly as they caught the light from one of the nearby fires. "So short, skinny and ugly who are you?"

Hearing that Naruto blinked slightly in confusion, getting to his feet so he faced the girl, Naruto pulled down his hood revealing his pale blond hair and the mask that concealed his face.

"Oh I see so you're not just ugly…" The girl said gesturing to his mask. Naruto gave a nod of his head whilst opening his mouth to confirm what she was about to say, only for him to be taken aback by what the girl said next. "You're so ugly you have to actually wear a mask to hide your hideousness from the world."

Blinking slightly as he heard that Naruto replied before fully thinking through what he was going to say. "You're kind of a bitch aren't you?"

BANG!

Naruto hit the floor gasping for breath as all the air was taken out of his lungs, the little blond haired girl having just landed a punch to his gut that knocked him to the ground. But his condition didn't last long as he felt the charka from the souls he had consumed burning in his veins, he could feel his adrenaline pumping as his system was flooded by chakra. His first thought when he felt this is that he had somehow done this unconsciously, but that thought was soon put to rest when he heard the soft voice of You in his head.

" **Come on Naruto kick this bitches arse!"**

Pushing himself to his feet Naruto was able to see the surprise on Clementine's face before he charged her, aiming to tackle her to the ground. Only to receive a boot in the face as the girl leapt back a step before kicking forward taking advantage of Naruto's uncoordinated attack. Once again Naruto hit the floor, but unlike last time though he didn't stay down long as he hit the ground in a roll and made his way back to his feet. Thrusting is arm out in the direction of Clementine as he did so.

What happened next truly surprised Naruto. A chain like construct made of pure chakra erupted from Naruto's hand, it was reminiscent of the Chakra Chains he had seen his sister and mother make; only his was made up of his unique grayish chakra. Naruto it appeared wasn't the only one taken aback by the chains appearance as Clementine to was shocked. So much so that she didn't even try to dodge as the chain came swinging at her, catching her in the mid section as it catapulted her a few metres back.

"Arghh! Dammit that hurts like a bitch!" Clementine shouted as she got back onto her feet, her pink eyes lock on Naruto as he too was on his feet now facing her. "You can make a weird chain thing, that's not fair."

As she said that she broke eye contact with the blonde opposite her and looked down at where the chain had struck her. The parts of her shirt that had been touched by the grey chakra was gone, the edges of the fabric showing that it had rotted away. The flesh beneath though looked like it had also started rotting, as it had become dry and grey, the skin already falling off to show the decaying muscle beneath.

Instead of looking horrified or angry about it though Clementine let out a loud cackle of laughter. Looking down once more she could see one of the aspects of her bloodline were already at work, the flesh had begun to regenerate, the new flesh driving back the rot that had been caused by that chain like chakra construct. Looking up she could see the boy's eyes behind the mask, the sclera had turned black and the irises had turned crimson. What was more noticeable about them though was that they were widened in surprise, as though the boy had no idea how he had just done what he had done.

Jumping up and down slightly in excitement now that her previously festering wound had been healed, the blonde girl sent the masked boy a feral grin. "Finally a kid my own age that can fight back! So what's you name then kid? Or should I just keep calling you Ugly?"

As Naruto heard what Clementine had just said he had to blink in surprise, after what had just happened to her he thought that she would either be crying or raging, but instead she seemed happy. His surprise however only lasted until he heard what she called him, it seemed she recovered from that really painful looking and borderline life threatening wound very quickly. Looking up he looked her dead in the eye seeing the hidden glee contained within, he decided to say the first thing that came to mind. "My name is Pain bitch!"

 **AN : So yeah that is the name Naruto has chosen to go by, it was a bit of an off the cuff decision of his. But I thought it would be quite amusing if Pein of the Akatsuki met Pain of the Outcasts. They could have a Peainoff... haha, but anyway yeah I quite like it, I hope others do to.**

 **So on to other things, there will be a time skip between this chapter and the next as I don't wan the story to drag its heels. One thing I find annoying about some stories is how they can have hundreds of thousands of words written and yet the story will have barely progressed. I know character development and setting out the world etc. is important, but so too is pacing. There is one story I have read recently which has over three hundred thousand words written and they have only just gotten passed the wave arc.**

 **Also I hope you all like the last important OC in the story, I passed their character off of a character from a different anime, as I really liked that character and I thought with a bit of development it could fit seamlessly into the Naruto world. All of these OC's will be developed much more than most of the Konoha 12 ever were during canon.**

 **Another thing to note is we saw a bit more of Naruto's abilities developing which is always interesting.**

 **So anyway yeah, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you drop a comment or a review.**

 **See you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Here is the next chapter sorry for the wait was a bit of trouble to write this.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

 **Chapter 8**

 **( - )**

 _ **(Last Time)**_

 _Pushing himself to his feet Naruto was able to see the surprise on Clemintine's face before he charged her, aiming to tackle her to the ground. Only to receive a boot in the face as the girl leapt back a step before kicking forward taking advantage of Naruto's uncoordinated attack. Once again Naruto hit the floor, but unlike last time though he didn't stay down long as he hit the ground in a roll and made his way back to his feet. Thrusting is arm out in the direction of Clementine as he did so._

 _What happened next truly surprised Naruto. A chain like construct made of pure chakra erupted from Naruto's hand, it was reminiscent of the Chakra Chains he had seen his sister and mother make; only his was made up of his unique grayish chakra. Naruto it appeared wasn't the only one taken aback by the chains appearance as Clementine to was shocked. So much so that she didn't even try to dodge as the chain came swinging at her, catching her in the mid section as it catapulted her a few metres back._

" _Arghh! Dammit that hurts like a biitch!" Clementine shouted as she got back onto her feet, her pink eyes lock on Naruto as he too was on his feet now facing her. "You can make a weird chain thing, that's not fair."_

 _As she said that she broke eye contact with the blonde opposite her and looked down at where the chain had struck her. The parts of her shirt that had been touched by the grey chakra was gone, the edges of the fabric showing that it had rotted away. The flesh beneath though looked like it had also started rotting, as it had become dry and grey, the skin already falling off to show the decaying muscle beneath._

 _Instead of looking horrified or angry about it though Clementine let out a loud cackle of laughter. Looking down once more she could see one of the aspects of her bloodline were already at work, the flesh had begun to regenerate, the new flesh driving back the rot that had been caused by that chain like chakra construct. Looking up she could see the boy's eyes behind the mask, the sclera had turned black and the irises had turned crimson. What was more noticeable about them though was that they were widened in surprise, as though the boy had no idea how he had just done what he had done._

 _Jumping up and down slightly in excitement now that her previously festering wound had been healed, the blonde girl sent the masked boy a feral grin. "Finally a kid my own age that can fight back! So what's you name then kid? Or should I just keep calling you Ugly?"_

 _As Narito heard what Clementine had just said he had to blink in surprise, after what had just happened to her he thought that she would either be crying or raging, but instead she seemed happy. His surprise however only lasted until he heard what she called him, it seemed she recovered from that really painful looking and borderline life threatening wound very quickly. Looking up he looked her dead in the eye seeing the hidden glee contained within, he decided to say the first thing that came to mind. "My name is Pain bitch!"_

 _ **( - )**_

 **(Three Years Later)**

It had been three years, Naruto thought to himself as he walked through the winding streets of Kirigakure. Three years since he had fled his home in the night, fled like some kind of criminal. Three years since he had come across Victor, the bizarre boy who would later become one of his closest friends. Three years since he had come to the Land of Water to join the Rogue Clans in fighting alongside the Rebels in the Kiri civil war

In those three years Naruto had changed a lot, so much so that he doubted anyone would recognise him as the frail boy who had first arrived at the camp. He now stood at just less than five foot ten inches, with broad shoulders and muscled arms. His previously spiky hair was now cropped very short, after all having long hair in a fight was just stupid in his mind, it just gave the enemy something else to grab onto. His skin was still pale, but no longer an unhealthy shade, instead it just looked like he hadn't been in the sun enough, which considering the climate of Water Country was relatively true.

Also gone was his mask, the crude thing had been destroyed by Clementine in one of their many spars. Instead he kept his face bare, no longer caring to hide it behind some mask when he was in Kirigakure his home. Luckily though he no longer resembled his father as much, with his hair cropped and his face slightly fuller and rounder, no doubt due to his mothers genes, the resemblance was no longer so close. Which when added to his eyes, which now had constantly black sclera and crimson red irises made him look completely different. In Naruto's mind this was what he looked like; he saw no point in hiding it anymore, not now he had found happiness in his new home.

What had also changed was his style; he now wore a pair of standard Shinobi sandals with mottled grey and black Shinobi combat pants, specifically designed for him. On his chest he had a mesh shirt, and an open grey waist coat. On each of his wrists was a tattooed kanji, a permanent storage seal on each of his wrists that made the need for pouches or pockets pointless.

Thinking back on the last three years Naruto could not think of one thing he would do differently. When he thought of what is life would have been like, either trapped or isolated in Konoha never allowed to be a Shinobi, or dissected in some laboratory. His body dissected to try and see how his abilities work.

No he was far happy where he was; his life before in Konoha was now nothing more than a distant memory, becoming more and more distant every day.

The last three years for Naruto had been quite fun all things considered. The war in Kiri had ended within a year of his arrival. Not that he played that much of a part in any of the fighting. No, despite his unique abilities he was still just an untrained kid in the Rebels eyes, he along with Clementine and the other kids at the camp had mostly played minor roles in the war. They had run messages sometimes through enemy territory.

They had acted as support for the main forces, going in after to clean up the remaining existence, with some of the more unique Outcasts like Naruto taking advantage of the opportunity. Naruto had tended to gorge himself on the souls left over from the multiple skirmishes and battles that occurred throughout the Kiri civil war. He had managed to find his niche in their society, where some like Victor collect organs and limbs from the fallen to act as replacements, and others like Clementine ate the flesh of the dead a rather grim aspect of her own kekkei genkai. Naruto was the only one who devoured their souls, this meant he had an endless supply to eat, an all you can eat buffet.

Of course this was not free; he had to do his part. This for Naruto meant more than just running errands and acting as support for the main force. No thanks to his unique abilities he was the Rebel's main interrogator, drafted in along with Furui to find out the enemies secrets. How he did this was a secret known only to a few, including Mei Terumi the new Mizukage and his closest companions, Victor and Clementine.

Letting out another sigh as he felt the rain patter down around him, join the constant fog that surrounded this land in soaking him to the bone. Naruto continued to think about the past. With Naruto's help in extracting information the tides of war soon turned as the loyalists soon found that their operatives could no longer hide their secrets. Panic had begun to spread as the Rebels now seemed to know their every move, their chain of hierarchy and even their hidden bases.

This panic had turned into fear and suspicion as the loyalists began to believe they had a traitor in their midst. The Rebel's took advantage of this and soon began to drive the loyalists back, working in tandem with the Rogue Clans to push the enemy back. Victory had not just become possible for the rebel forces, it had become likely and Naruto had played a big role in this. Not through the traditional method of combat, though he did fight even if it was just in support of the main forces. No Naruto aided the rebel forces to victory through providing information, and in the end it was which side had the best information that won the war, not which side had the flashiest Jutsu or the largest army.

Hundreds maybe thousands died in battle during the war, mostly the loyalists, but also many Outcasts and Rebels died, giving their lives on the same battlefield for their comrades and for victory.

Some good did come from this though, as bonds soon began to form between the Rebels and the Outcasts. Bonds formed through mutual understanding of what it meant to be persecuted for having a bloodline. Bonds formed on the battlefield through sacrifice and bloodshed. What also helped was the fact that the less liberal members of Kiri were loyalists, and these people were getting butchered by the united front of the Outcasts and Rebels. With the strongest voices against the Outcasts lying dead in the ground, it was no real surprise that after the war ended an agreement was made with the Outcasts.

An agreement that the Outcasts who fought in the war were invited to join Kiri, offered funding and aid in establishing their own Clan's and Clan Compounds within the Village. Most accepted, after all they had lived by the code that there was always safety in numbers and so as a black almost ninety percent of the Outcasts joined Kiri.

It wasn't an entirely one-sided deal though, as Mei had made the offer for a reason when she had been named Mizukage after the Fourth Mizukage was deposed. After years of brutal war and purges the population of Kiri was almost halved, with multiple Clan's and bloodlines either extinct or on the verge of extinction. Kirigakure was on the verge of collapse; with it being very likely that the Village would just die or become a second rate minor Village. That was of course until Mei made her offer, at which point the beleaguered population of Kiri doubled, with new and unique bloodlines flooding in.

This led to the Shinobi of Kirigakure being happy that their Village would not only survive but also come out of this possibly stronger. And it also led to the Outcasts being happy after all they now had the support and protection of a Shinobi Village, a village in which they had nearly a majority in. This opened up opportunities for them to lay down roots, and create a proper society.

There was of course some opposition, with some Shinobi looking down on the Outcasts or not wanting them there at all. Of course they tended to be in the minority and were quickly stamped out, after all, having just come out of a brutal war over the subjugation of bloodlines that kind of thinking was not welcomed.

In a way it could almost be seen as over correction, having just come out of the war the Shinobi took things like prejudice to the other extreme, welcoming in a number of new Clans that had not been invited into Shinobi Villages for a reason. These problems were soon solved however by the new Shinobi Council that was formed to advise the young Mizukage Mei. A Council made up of both former Outcasts and former Rebels. Giving a voice to all residents of Kiri.

Naruto snorted to himself at that. Thinking about it like that always made it all seem so grand and simple. Unfortunately though it was not even now two years later there were still tensions, still division. Although most of the Shinobi had now just accepted it and some even welcomed it, Shinobi being a pretty adaptable. The civilians in the Village were not so welcoming; some shops refused to serve former Outcasts, as to, did some of the bars not let them in. However at the same time establishments run by former Outcasts did not allow civilians in so it was not a one-sided thing.

It was towards one such bar that Naruto was now heading, looking to meet up with some friends and also get out of the damp Kiri climate. The bar he was headed to was a particularly grim one called the Poisoned Rat. It was a regular haunt of his, Naruto having taken a liking to it due to its rough atmosphere.

Approaching it Naruto grinned slightly as he saw a reddish puddle just in front of the door, _'looks like some unfortunate fucker picked a fight with the wrong person.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he stepped over the bloody puddle and into the noisy and sweaty bar.

As he did so Naruto looked around his tongue flicking out of his mouth and wetting his lips as he did so.

"Well look who it is!" A voice called out over the noise of the laughing and shouting patron's of the bar. "If it isn't that fucker, Pain!"

Some of the drunken Shinobi cheered at that, the alcohol slopping out of their mugs and onto the dirt floor as they did so. Others however gained distinctly uncomfortable looks, back away from him as they did so.

"Mina! A doll as always!" Naruto called out to the woman who hailed him.

Her name was Mina, she was a small child like woman with bright white hair and twinkling crimson eyes. At first appearances she looked like a little girl, easily able to pass for a child of maybe eight or nine. In reality though she was a woman in her sixties, a former Outcast who like Naruto did gained a unique bloodline or ability that caused her to leave her home.

Where that home was or how her ability manifested Naruto had no idea. He only knew what she had told him and she was never the most open of people and Naruto knew enough about her to know that pushing for more information from her would likely be fatal. As despite her innocent and child like appearance Mina was not only deadly but also a massive bitch. She was a sadist who took pleasure in other people's misery. Her unique ability allowed her to feed off of another's life energy, all she needed was to touch you and she would suck you dry, and not in the fun way.

This was how she maintained her youthful appearance; she was a parasite who fed off of others. The stolen life force also healed her of any damage she might receive, which made her pretty much immortal. Her other Shinobi abilities and fighting skills were no better than a chunins, but that did not really matter considering she only needed one touch to drain someone of their life.

"Oh you, you sure do know how to be charming don't you Pain." Mina replied coyly a slight flush on her cheeks as she looked shyly away. It was all an act of course, an act to make people let down their guards or underestimate her. But for Naruto who had seen what she was capable of, it would never work, she may be sweet and innocent on the outside, but on the inside she was a monster.

"Your little friends are all by the bar, go have a drink, on the house." Mina replied as she gestured across the crowded room and towards the bar.

"Thanks Mina" Naruto replied with a wink as he walked past the table she was sat at, a number of laughing and drinking men around her, men who were probably going to wake up tomorrow unable to move after having most of the life drained from them. Like he said, she was a bitch.

"Anytime honey!" Mina called back before looking away, her eyes wide and glistening as she innocently looked up at the big men around her. "So can any of you help me find my mummy?" Was the last thing Naruto heard her say before he was swallowed up by the crowd.

Walking through the bar Naruto couldn't help but grin as he saw how people got out of his way. Some out of respect, his contributions in the war having not been kept a secret, even if his methods of interrogation and spying were left to speculation. Others however got out of his way because they were scared, embarrassing as being scared of a fourteen year old maybe it was not unwarranted. This was due to what Naruto's current job was. Naruto was one of Kiri's Hunter-nins, a Shinobi who hunts down and kills other rogue Shinobi.

It was a job that Naruto did alongside two others, Clementine and Victor. Together they made up one of Kiri's most feared Hunting teams, the Ghouls. A team perfectly equipped for hunting down and butchering rogue Shinobi and then completely disposing of the remains.

This was helped by all of their individual abilities; Clementine's bloodline gave her enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, durability and senses. This along with her regeneration and her unique chakra made her the perfect hunter. The downside of her bloodline though, was that the changes to her body meant she had to use more energy which meant she had to eat more than a normal person would. This alone would not be a downside, but that wasn't all, due to her altered body she was unable to eat normal food, in fact doing so made her sick. The only thing Clementine could eat without throwing up was flesh, and not just any but human flesh. Her bloodline had made her the perfect predator, unfortunately though it had made humans her perfect prey.

This downside of her bloodline was what had led to her and her Clan being excluded from the Shinobi Villages; it had also led to many of her kind being hunted down and killed. This was mostly their own faults for giving into their hunger and feasting on humans without restraint.

Clementine though was smarter than that, she restricted her prey to those outside of her Village, taking on the position of being a Hunter-nin as it fit well with her natural skills of hunting and killing humans and also gave her an endless supply of fresh meat.

Victor too was also uniquely adapted to being a Hunter-nin. With the threads he used as his weapon he had become a master of traps, able to turn any environment into a deadly maze. He to, like Clementine also benefited from the number of dead bodies they create doing their job, with him having an endless supply of body parts and organs that he could use. Of course he did have to fight Clementine off sometimes in order to stop her from eating his prize.

Then finally there was Naruto's contribution. Like his teammates he benefitted from the dead bodies of the Shinobi both local and foreign that they hunt, though unlike them he doesn't have to fight over the choice scraps. No, he gets the souls all to himself. Plus the fact that his abilities were ideal focused on death was useful to.

His chakra devoured life, rotting and decaying anything that it touched, be it flesh wood or anything living really, it even devoured chakra. But more than that his chakra didn't just damage a person's body it could also damaged their souls if he wanted. As unlike with the primary nature of his chakra, which was to rot and decay anything it touched something he could not turn off, his ability to touch, eat and damage souls was something he had absolute control over.

Of course more than once he had gotten in trouble with his teammates for going over the top with his abilities when on the hunt. Neither of them after all could make use of a rotted corpse, this meant that most of the time he only used his chakra internally when hunting individual targets, using it to enhance his speed, strength and durability, which when wielded in conjunction with his axe made him a true fiend on the battlefield even without his most deadly abilities.

Suffice to say, the ghoulish nature of their team had become something of a legend to the people of Kirigakure and a nightmare to their enemies and rogue Shinobi. Already each of them had a high bounty on their heads from the some of the other Villages, as although there were no current wars, there were constant skirmishes with other Villages. Skirmishes that more often than not ended with all the enemies of Kiri dead, the skirmishes were a regular thing for all Hunter-nins as they did not just go after rogue Shinobi from their own Village, but those from other ones to, this led to a lot of competition in the field.

Luckily for Naruto and his team though the fact that they wore masks when in the field meant that there were no pictures of them to put on the bounty sheets. So although their abilities and code names were well known and feared, their names and appearances were completely unknown. Well to those outside of Kiri, there were many in Kiri who did know them or at least know of them, but they were smart enough to know that if they blabbed Kiri's secrets to enemies they would not last long. This was common across every Shinobi Village in the Elemental Nations.

"Oi Pain get over here!" Naruto heard as he reached the bar, looking up with a sight grin he soon found himself looking at Clementine, or Lady Clementine as she still liked to be called. In the last three years Clementine like him had grown up, she still had her shoulder length, golden blond hair and her pink eyes. But now she looked older and more mature no longer as innocent or childlike as she had. A point she made by what she chose to wear.

As she stood by the bar Naruto could help but let his eyes wander up and down her lithe form. Currently she was wearing very revealing silver armour, that included spiked gauntlets, and armoured greaves. The rest of her armour though was pretty much an armoured bikini, made from the head guards of Shinobi she had slain. Her light armour a patchwork of symbols from different Shinobi Vilages

Walking up to her Naruto leaned on the bar, making eye contact with the bartender as he did so. "I'll have bourbon neat. Been told it is on the house"

Nodding the bartender turned to the shelves of spirits behind the bar, reaching for a clear bottle full of amber coloured liquor. Grabbing it he then grabbed a small glass from under the bar and began to pour the precious liquid out.

"Make it a double." Naruto commented absently as he kept his attention on Clementine.

"So trouble, been awhile." Naruto said a slight grin on his face. "Done anything I wouldn't do?"

"Not really just cleaning up after our last job." Clementine replied with a shrug. "Tying up loose ends you know."

"Loose ends?" Naruto asked with a slight frown, barely acknowledging the bartender as he handed him his drink.

"Yeah apparently Subaru that ugly fucker from Otogakure had a son." Clementine replied with irritation. "Had to check to make sure he didn't see anything he shouldn't."

"Did he?" Naruto asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Yeah, apparently he saw me rip his daddy's throat out with my teeth." Clementine said with a feral grin showing off her pearly white teeth as she did so.

From behind them they heard the sound out shattering glass.

Looking round Naruto saw the bartender staring at them in horror, a glass having fallen out of his shaking hand.

' _Hn must be a newbie.'_ Naruto thought to himself after all the denizens of this bar were all Hunter-nins, ANBU and former Outcasts, they talked about some pretty brutal shit. "So did you kill the kid?" Naruto replied curiously.

"Nah, little shit never saw my face so don't see any harm in letting him live. If anything it will help to spread our infamy." Clementine replied once again shrugging as she lifted a cup of cheap red wine to her lips before draining it, grimacing slightly at the nasty taste.

Naruto was not fooled though, he knew the real reason she didn't kill the kid. It was her way of maintaining her humanity. The life of an Outcast was hard; even now they had a Village to call their home. Especially when you had a bloodline that made it so you had to prey on others to survive, that kind of shit would make anyone go insane. But not Clementine, for all she claimed she was a monster she still had her humanity. Showing the occasional mercy when she could was simply her way of holding onto her humanity.

"What about you? It's been two days since our last mission?" Clementine replied as she glared at the bartender, shaking her cup expectantly at him. Paling the man grabbed a nearby bottle and filled it up before he backed away.

' _Yeah I doubt he will last long.'_ Naruto once again thought, feeling sorry for the man, as Mina the owner of the bar was not the kind of person who knew how to be merciful.

"Doing some interrogation work for the old hag." Naruto replied, which told Clementine that Mei had a valuable prisoner she wanted information from.

"Get anything good from him?" The blonde girl asked with interest.

"I'm not sure." Naruto replied with a slight frown. "What I got from him didn't make much sense to me, but Mei seemed to know something."

"I'm surprised she didn't tell you?" Clementine said, genuinely surprised. Mei had a very soft spot for Naruto, letting him get away with most things and often confiding in him more than she would with most. This was probably due to how grateful she was to Naruto over his contribution in the war. So for her not to tell him meant that it could be something big.

"She doesn't tell me everything you know." Naruto replied with a mock pout.

"Well she tells you what colour of panties she is wearing so I would say she tells you a lot." Clementine mocked as she took another swig of wine, only to gag a second later.

"If it is so revolting why do you drink it?" Naruto sighed as he saw her reaction. Knowing that due to her bloodline, normal food and drink tasted vile to her so much so that she could barely stomach it.

"It's alcohol isn't it." Clementine replied shrewishly. "Even if it makes me sick it gets me drunk."

"True but that buzz only lasts a few minutes due to your regeneration." Naruto replied without much sympathy, making sure to sigh in content as he drank his own liquor.

The girl gave him a death glare at that before she kicked him in the shin.

"Asshole." She muttered, even as her lips twitched. "At least I can heal."

"Ohh low blow." Naruto said with mock hurt. What she was talking about was a draw back in his bloodline ability, due to the nature of his abilities being based on death Naruto had lost the ability to heal naturally. He could still force his body to heal with chakra which made it a bit small drawback, but still Clementine found it very amusing for some reason.

"Pain, Clementine. Up to no good again I see." A familiar voice said gaining both of their attention.

"Ahh if it isn't patch, the patchwork scarecrow." Clementine said as she turned to face Victor.

"Funny," Victor said as he walked up to them.

Out of the three of them Victor was the one who had changed the least. That is to say his overall personality and appearance had changed the least, his actually body though had gone through a number of changes, him having now replaced all of his organs at least once and his limbs probably half a dozen times now. Amusingly enough he was currently sporting a pale white arm, taken from a particularly annoying Iwa Shinobi who they had fought on one of their missions, on his left side. But a dark skinned arm from a Kumo Shinobi on his right side, which truly did give him the look at a patchwork man.

Looking at his dark skinned hand Victor raised it and flipped Clementine the bird.

This only succeeded in getting her more excited though. "So tell me Victor because I am curious."

"What now?" Victor asked wearily.

""Have you still got your original cock or have you replaced it now?" Clementine asked bluntly.

Victor and Naruto just stared at her in surprise, the sound of shattering glass telling them that the bartender had dropped yet another glass.

Turning to Victor an eyebrow raised Naruto asked. "Have you?"

"Why the fuck would you ask that?!" Victor said completely taken aback.

"Well I always heard that men from Kumo had bigger dicks than men from Konoha or anywhere else in the Elemental Nations. So I thought you might have decided to get yourself a new dick while you were there." Clementine said with a shrug, before looking over at Naruto. "No offense for saying you have a little dick though Pain."

"Offense taken" Naruto replied as he clasped his hands over his crotch at the thought of Victor going around steeling dicks.

"How the fuck did we even get onto this topic?!" Victor shouted conspicuously avoiding answering as he did so. "I did come here for a reason you know."

"Course you did. You came to drink with your best mates!" Naruto said as he drained the last of his drink and slammed it down on the bar.

"Here here!" Clementine shouted as she drank her own drink, only for her mouth to bulge as she tried to force it down.

"No I am here to get you two for the next mission." Victor replied his voice still a little shrill as he took the goblet of wine out of Clementine's hand before draining it. "Well that was disgusting I don't know how you drink that cheap swill."

"Well if it is all going to taste vile I might as well buy the cheapest and most alcoholic one I can." The blonde said trying to justify herself.

"So what's the mission?" Naruto asked trying to get the mission back on track.

"No idea, that's why I came to get you, Lady Terumi wants to give us the briefing." Victor replied as he began to make his way out of the bar.

"But I only just got here." Naruto complained his black and red eyes looking pleadingly up at the tall Victor.

"So you won' have had time to get comfortable, now come on." Victor replied as he made his way through the crowd of other patrons, most of who back away as they saw Victor's hideous scars and stitches.

"Has anyone ever told you, you are a bit of an asshole?" Naruto replied as he followed along behind Victor.

"Speaking of which Victor have you ever stolen anyone else's asshole?" Clementine asked slyly as she too followed the grey haired man.

"Fuck off!" Victor called back even as Naruto laughed and Clementine giggled to herself.

 **( - )**

 **(In the Mizukage Tower)**

Looking on with a slight grin on his face Naruto could barely keep from laughing as he saw Ao, Mei's right hand man glaring at him from where he was standing at Mei's shoulder.

Currently they were in Mei's office, with Mei sat behind her desk in a form fitting blue dress a slight smile on her face as she looked at Naruto, Victor and Clementine all of whom were standing in front of her desk.

Around the room currently hidden from sight were her retinue of ANBU, elite Shinobi that acted as both her bodyguards and her secret police. Not that she need protection considering she was a Kage, one who had killed her predecessor to get the position.

"I am glad you made such good time getting here." Mei said with a smile. "I had been expecting to wait for sometime whilst Victor collected you."

"And leave you waiting here alone, with only that grumpy Cyclops for company? Perish the thought." Naruto said with a look of horror on his face, even as his eyes flickered over to Ao, hiding a smirk as he saw the man tense.

"Cyclops! Why you little…" Ao began glaring at Naruto with his single good eye.

Raising her hand Mei cut off his reply. "Do try to be nice to Ao Naruto."

"I'll try, but it will be hard. What with him being a massive dick and all." Naruto sad as respectfully as he could.

"How dar…" Ao began again only to be interrupted by Mei laughing softly to herself.

"Don't rising to it so much Ao and maybe he won't get as much satisfaction from baiting you." Mei said in amusement. "As amusing as this is I did call you here for a reason."

"Yeah I know. So who do you want us to kill?" Naruto asked standing a bit straighter as he did.

"Well I would prefer it if you brought them back alive, but somehow I think these two might put up some resistance." Mei replied with a slight frown.

"You would prefer them alive?" Naruto queried, justified in his question as they were a kill team, they did not bring back prisoners.

"Yes, but like I said I doubt they will come quietly. What is more important than their lives however is what they are currently carrying." Mei replied as she brushed away Naruto's concerns.

"Who are these guys?" Clementine butted in impatiently. Not caring as Victor shot her a warning look and Ao hissed silently in displeasure.

"Do not interrupt you Mizukage!" Ao snapped as he glared at the blonde girl, only for Clementine to glare back, her pink eyes flashing dangerously.

"Their names are Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi. I presume you know what they carry?" Mei asked looking at Naruto.

"The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Naruto questioned a frown on his face. "Are you planning to reform them?"

"Yes, I have decided that the time is ripe to rebuild them. Kiri is stronger than it has been in decades. Our forces are battle hardened veterans and but due to the infamy we have received from having the old Outcasts Clans we are not getting as many contracts as we should be. Both Kumo and Konoha are receiving more, whilst Iwa and Kiri are trailing behind. This is not acceptable." Mei said a frown on her face.

"So reforming the Seven Swordsmen is some kind of gimmick?" Naruto questioned scratching the back of his head.

"Yes and no, the Swordsmen were a powerful fighting force, but more than that, they were also a symbol of Kiri's might." Mei explained.

"Ok so you want us to hunt down and either recruit or kill the current Swordsmen, but either way bring back the swords." Naruto summarized getting a nod from Mei as he did. "But wouldn't that leave us one blade short? After all Kiri only had four of the blades at present."

"Three of which are already in the hands of the next generation in training. " Ao added in.

"What about the other one?" Naruto asked ignoring Ao.

"Samehada, currently wielded by Kisame Hoshigaki. My agents are trying to get a location but have been struggling at the moment. But rest assured when we do find him I will be sending you after him to." Mei replied a scowl on her face as she thought about their lack of success in tracking down the rogue Shinobi.

"Ok sounds like a good fight!" Naruto said with a grin on his face at the thought of the mission to come. He loved travelling and he also loved fighting. "Where do we start looking."

The answer he received was two folders being dropped on Mei's desk by Ao.

Scooping them up Naruto nodded. "We'll get to work then. But what if someone gets in our way?"

"Depends who they are and what they are doing." Mei shrugged before gaining a hard look in her eye. "But if they get in the way of your mission terminate them with extreme prejudice."

"Understood." The three Hunter-nin said in unison.

 **AN: So I hoped you like it. I know some people may be a bit confused about why there was a timeskip. The reason for that is simple. Naruto was a kid, an untrained kid wouldn't have a lot of responsibility. They would clean up after the end of battle, run messages, and act in support. Similar to what Nawaki did during the Shinobi wars.**

 **Events during the Civil War will be shown. Some in flash back some in explanation. I just don't want to do a montage. Never been a fan of montages in stories.**

 **Naruto's abilities will be shown in more detail next chapter as will what has happened in Konoha.**

 **Anyway please leave reviews and comments for the story. I would really like to hear from you. Also I am getting more and more into this story again. I go through phases with stories so yeah I am hoping for some good comments and suggestions.**

 **See you all later.**

 **Seagate.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I have to say the response to the last chapter was great and to show my appreciation I decided to put some effort in and get another chapter out as a thanks.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Just to warn you there is some foul language in this chapter...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 9**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

" _Do not interrupt you Mizukage!" Ao snapped as he glared at the blonde girl, only for Clementine to glare back, her pink eyes flashing dangerously._

" _Their names are Raiga Kurosaki and Zabuza Momochi. I presume you know what they carry?" Mei asked looking at Naruto._

" _The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Naruto questioned._

" _Yes, I have decided that the time is ripe to rebuild them. Kiri is stronger than it has been in decades. Our forces are battle hardened veterans and but due to the infamy we have received from having the old Outcasts Clans we are not getting as many contracts as we should be. Both Kumo and Konoha are receiving more, whilst Iwa and Kiri are trailing behind. This is not acceptable." Mei said a frown on her face._

" _So reforming the Seven Swordsmen is some kind of gimmick?" Naruto questioned._

" _Yes and no, the Swordsmen were a powerful fighting force, but more than that, they were also a symbol of Kiri's might." Mei explained._

" _Ok so you want us to hunt down and either recruit or kill the current Swordsmen, but either way bring back the swords." Naruto summarized getting a nod from Mei as he did. "But wouldn't that leave us one blade short? After all Kiri only had four of the blades at present."_

" _Three of which are already in the hands of the next generation in training. " Ao added in._

" _What about the other one?" Naruto asked ignoring Ao._

" _Samehada, currently wielded by Kisame Hoshigaki. My agents are trying to get a location but have been struggling at the moment. But rest assured when we do find him I will be sending you after him to." Mei replied a scowl on her face as she thought about their lack of success in tracking down the rogue Shinobi._

" _Ok sounds like a good fight!" Naruto said with a grin on his face. "Where do we start looking?"_

 _The answer he received was two folders being dropped on Mei's desk by Ao._

 _Scooping them up Naruto nodded. "We'll get to work then. But what if someone gets in our way?"_

" _Depends who they are and what they are doing." Mei shrugged before gaining a hard look in her eye. "But if they get in the way of your mission terminate them with extreme prejudice."_

" _Understood." The three Hunter-nin said in unison._

 **( - )**

 **(Five Hours Later in the Land of Rivers)**

Moving swiftly through the trees Naruto, Clementine and Victor passed over the border of the Land of Rivers. None of them even paused or hesitated, used as they were to criss-crossing the borders of the Elemental Nations. It was part of their job as Hunter-nins really; they entered any country with impunity, their identities shielded by masks.

Naruto's mask was made of a dull silver metal, painted black so as to make it less conspicuous. Unlike his team mates his mask was completely plain, not even showing the symbol of Kiri. Though this was mainly due to the fact that if they were to get caught their identity as a Kiri Shinobi would not be revealed, and thus the Village would not be impacted by one of their Shinobi being found in another's territory.

Victor and Clementine though had been far more creative when they had gotten their own Hunter-nin masks made. Clementine mask like Naruto's was black, but unlike his however her mask was shaped like a laughing skull. The mouth section on the mask was wide enough for Clementine's mouth to be seen through. This had been done for an actual reason though. The laughing skull design had been done for the intimidation factor and to also put her enemies of guard. The opening for her mouth though had been done so she could use her mouth whilst in combat. Her skills and bloodline were entirely orientated to close combat, and using her mouth to rip out chunks of flesh was a part of that, plus it also completely took her enemies by surprise.

Victor's mask though was as patchwork as he himself was. Originally made of black painted metal like the other two his mask had had other bits and pieces attached to it to reinforce different parts or to make improvement that Victor deemed necessary. This had been done with a number of different materials which just made his mask look strange.

Continuing on through the new land they found themselves in the three of them came to a stop. All three balancing on a single branch that overlooked a collection of buildings that were in the middle of a particularly mountainous part of the region.

Looking to his comrades Naruto decided to break the silence they had been travelling in pretty much for the last five hours since leaving Kirigakure. This was always the way with them, when on the hunt in enemy territory they would move in absolute silence. After all if they did talk they would get distracted and all it would take is a single distraction for the enemy to take them by surprise. They had seen it personally after taking several of their targets out like this, attacking while they were talking or having a meal. They were Shinobi; things like fairness and honour were pointless in their line of work.

Standing on the tree branch, Naruto and the others looked down into the small mining settlement. Naruto frowned slightly as he counted a number of thugs and bandits standing round the small settlement. The thugs currently overseeing a number of civilians, probably people local to the area, as they were forced to work, breaking up and collecting rocks from around the mine.

"How many do you count?" Naruto asked, as he glanced over at Clementine.

"That we can see, I'd say eleven hostiles none of whom are Shinobi and twenty four civilians." The blonde girl replied from where she was crouched down on the tree branch, her sharp eyes darting around the settlement. "Don't see our target though."

"Hmm, probably up top." Naruto replied as he glanced up taking note of the wooden buildings that were further up the mountain. "What do you want to do about the thugs?"

"They are in the way." Clementine said simply.

"Alright then." Naruto replied before he glanced over to the silently watching Victor. "Victor I want you to kill or incapacitate all those fuckers. The civilians to if they get in your way."

Victor nodded at that even as he prepared to leap off of the branch. "Sounds good, have been looking to get a new liver."

"Make sure to do it silently. We don't want anyone to know we are here until we want them to." Naruto added on, knowing how Victor liked to torment his victims in his wire traps.

Raising his right hand and flexing the complicated metal contraption that he was wearing like a gauntlet, Victor gave Naruto a bored look. "You really can be boring sometimes you know that?"

"Just get it done. Make sure the lower half of the settlement is secure before you join us. I don't fancy being attacked from behind whilst we are up there."

"Yeah, yeah I have done this shit before you know." Victor said good-naturedly as he leapt from the tree branch. Easily making it onto one of the nearby roofs that dotted the mining town. His hands already moving as he headed deeper into the settlement, no doubt he was planning on ghosting the thugs in the town one by one.

Turning to Clementine, Naruto issued another command. "Clementine, go grab me the nearest bandit, we are going to need some more information on just what is happening here."

"How many times do I have to tell you Pain, the name is Lady Clementine? The Inhuman Lady Clementine." The blonde girl replied with a slight giggle as she too leapt off the branch, travelling through the air like some kind of specter Clementine smashed into a nearby bandit, moving so fast she appeared a blur as she knocked him into a gap between two buildings.

This went completely unnoticed by the other bandits in the settlement as they continued to shout orders at their workers, or laugh obnoxiously to each other.

Staring into the dark gap between the buildings, Naruto watched as with a single punch Clementine knocked the plain looking man out. No doubt also fracturing his spine as she did so, not that it mattered, as long as he was still relatively alive when she brought him to back Naruto.

Grabbing the man Clementine shunshinned back to the tree Naruto was waiting in, dumping the man unceremoniously onto the branch next to Naruto as she did so.

"Go do your thing ghost boy." Clementine said as she looked expectantly at Naruto.

"Funny…" Naruto replied blandly as he placed his hand on the man's head. With barely a thought Naruto pulled his hand back, pulling with it a glowing orb of blue light, one that had a number of dark speckles floating around in it.

Flicking his gaze up so he was looking at Clementine, Naruto made sure to smirk, knowing she would be able to tell what he was doing even behind his mask. Before he finished pulling his hand away from the man's he made sure to inject some of his unique chakra into him.

"Oh, you are fucking asshole." Clementine muttered irritably as she ignored the now visible soul orb that Naruto was absorbing into his bare hand as opposed to being eaten, something he had learned to do over time. Instead she scowled down at the now dead man as she saw his skin being to go grey and shrivel, even as his flesh began falling of his skeleton. Within thirty seconds the previously healthy, if slightly overweight man now resembled an emaciated and half rotten corpse.

"Enjoy your meal." Naruto said with a grin as he closed his eyes. _'You, what have you got?'_

" **Bare with me for a second you only just devoured his soul."** Was You's irritable reply, his voice echoing around in Naruto's head.

" **Ok, the guy didn't know much but here are his memories. He was pretty stupid so I could only get the ones from the last couple of months."** You continued as Naruto's other half, his secondary and inner personality did his work, sending a number of flashing images over to Naruto.

Grunting in discomfort as he slowly processed what You had sent him Naruto opened his eyes again. Smirking again as he saw Clementine's masked face looking down at Pon's, for that was his name, rotten corpse. He could almost imagine the disappointed look on her face.

"Cheer up; I am sure we can get you a nice meal later." Naruto replied as Clementine looked up at him.

"You better." She replied irritably, before continuing. "So what did you get from ugly"

"Turns out that a band of thugs calling themselves the 'Kurosuki Clan' took control of the village a few months ago, and Raiga is their leader. Have to say the guy is a bit of a sick fuck, he has started to organize funerals for people who don't follow his orders." Naruto said as he drew up on the man's memories.

"What is wrong with having 'funerals'?" Clementine asked with a frown, before adding on in typical fashion. "Of course a part from a waste of good meat?"

"Well it turns out Raiga buries people alive whilst crying and lamenting like some pussy as he is performing the funerals." Naruto replied with a shrug, not really that bothered about it. After all after three years of fighting in a war and being a Hunter-nin, he was pretty desensitized to most things.

"Hm, weird." The blonde replied. "What's wrong with a good old fashioned beheading?"

"No idea. Now come on Raiga is at the top of the settlement, up there." Naruto replied as he nodded at the group of buildings further p the mountain. "He's got about ten more guys up there; the rest will hopefully all be dead by now."

"Awesome." Clementine replied unenthusiastically. "So we going to try and take him alive?"

"Why bother." Naruto replied callously. "It'll be easier if we just kill him and his followers and then take the Kiba blades."

"Works for me and you did promise me a snack." Clementine replied her pink eyes twinkling maliciously as she and Naruto disappeared from their branch in blurs of motion, heading in the direction of Raiga.

All that was left of their presence was the rotted corpse of Pon, who even now slowly broke apart crumbling to pieces as it fell off the tree branch and land on the ground with a wet thump.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes later)**

"Okay, so here is the plan, I go kill Raiga whilst you kill the others." Naruto said as he crouched alongside Clementine, both of them looking down at Raiga Kurosaki as he wept at a freshly turned grave, a number of his followers standing around him wearing funeral clothing. "They should be quite easy for you to finish off, once you have done that come and help me. I doubt I will need it but it may make the job easier if we work together."

"Sounds good." Clementine replied with a nod as he reached behind her back before withdrawing two long, needle sharp stiletto blades. Twirling them around in her hands, she looked down on her future victims with a cat like grin. "Try not to mess him up to much though, we will need his head intact if we are to get his bounty money."

"Just make sure to finish them quickly. I want this job over quickly." Naruto replied as he glared down at mock funeral.

"Why do you want to get back to your precious Mei?" Clementine mocked.

"You know you almost sound jealous." Naruto replied back not taking his eyes away from his target, Raiga.

"You wish." Clementine replied before she leapt from her position, her body blurring as soon as her feet touched the ground. Her blades held in her hands as she charged the group.

Moving himself Naruto followed Clementine's charge. As he did so he took note of the fact that Raiga turned to face them. Something that should have been impossible considering their skill at stealth, in comparison to Raiga's recorded level as a Swordsman of a Mist. He elite level skill with his blades and his lightning jutsu, but in terms of his other Shinobi skills he was barely Jonin level. But even so he somehow noticed their approach.

Speeding up his charge Naruto charged straight for him, the seal tattooed on his right wrist glowing faintly, before in a small cloud of smoke his weapon appeared.

It was a long shafted war axe, made entirely out of chakra metal, something that allowed him to safely channel his chakra through it without corroding damaging the weapon. Darting forward Naruto sidestepped as soon as he got within reach of Raiga. The man having drawn his own blades, the finely crafted twin blades sparking with lightning as he lunged at Naruto, straight away going for a decapitation.

Crouching down low Naruto dodged under Raiga's swing, turning his body as he did so before he used the momentum to increase the strength of his own strike. The axe blade going straight at Raiga's left arm, the metal now glowing a faint bluish grey colour as Naruto channeled his chakra through it.

It was not to be however as Raiga jumped backwards, avoiding Naruto's surprise counterattack with startling ease.

Undeterred Naruto took another step forward, taking a strong base as he parried away Raiga's Kiba blades; his own deadly chakra dispersing Raiga's lightning as his chakra slowly began to devour Raiga's.

Twisting his wrist Naruto did not allow Raiga a single moment as he slammed his axe down on the man, forcing him to bring his blades up in a cross guard to block him. Another twist of his wrist had the two blades caught in the inner curve of his axe. Drawing on his chakra and then channeling it into his muscles Naruto wrenched his axe away, pulling both the blades form Raiga's grip before he raised his foot and delivered a chakra enhanced kick straight to his gut.

Tumbling back a few steps Raiga gave Naruto a filthy look as he saw his precious blades lying in the mud a few metres away from the still waiting Naruto.

His glare however soon faltered as he felt a burning pain from his stomach. Looking down Raiga could see Naruto's sandal print on his stomach. His chakra enhanced kick having rotted through his shirt and killed a patch of skin on his stomach, leaving it shriveled and gray.

"What the fuck…" Raiga muttered as he felt the burning pain in his gut, before he looked up at the masked man in front of him.

 **( - )**

 **(With Clementine)**

Letting out a laugh Clementine continued her charge, ignoring Raiga as she trusted Pain implicitly, knowing that he had never failed her before.

Instead she focused on the surprised looking bandits in front of her. All of whom turned in shock as she appeared in their midst. The first two unable to react as she drove the stiletto blade in her right hand through the first bandits eye socket, killing him instantly. Her left blade slipped in between the second bandits second and third rib, giving him a crippling wound that would lead to him having a long drawn out death.

Or at least it would have had she not also used her right leg to shatter his knees before she crushed his head with a single stamp of her foot.

Not stopping in her movements for a moment she swung around her now blood soaked blades still in hand as she easily dodged under a wild sword swing from one of the thugs before she slashed her blades out again. Slitting another bandit's throat with on blade and gutting his comrade.

Leaping back from the point of her first impact a savage grin on her face she paused a second to admire her work. Ten seconds after her first contact with the enemy and four were already dead, the other six all struggling to draw weapons or looking around in shock, trying to figure out what just happened.

Crouching down so she was lower to the floor, Clementine once again charged in covering metres in mere moments as she once again engaged her enemy. Her twin blades flashing as she hamstrung one bandit, disemboweled another, and punctured the heart of third bandit.

Twisting around she fund both of her knives, the long blades finding their home in the throats of two other bandits.

Standing up straight Clementine turned around again, that maniacal grin never leaving her face as she saw that only one bandit still stood. Eight of the other thugs lying dead on the ground and a ninth screaming as he curled up in a ball on the ground.

Prowling forward like a predatory beast circling its prey. Clementine approached the two living men. Her pink eyes gleaming through the eye slits in her mask.

"W-what the fuck are you!?" The still standing man gasped out as he backed away from the scantily masked woman in horror.

"I'm… complicated." Clementine replied emphasizing the last word as she brought her heel down on the screaming man on the floor, shattering his spine and ending his cries of agony.

"Y-you're a monster!" The man cried out as he stumbled away from her in terror.

"Oh you don't know the half of it." Clementine replied before she shot forward in a blur, knocking the man's sword from his trembling hands as she sank her teeth into his neck.

Letting out a moan of delight she preceded to rip the man's throat out leaving him drowning in his own blood as she began to hungrily gorge herself on his flesh.

Not a minute had passed since she first engaged them in combat, but in that minute all ten men had been killed and Clementine had managed to get the snack she had been craving.

 **( - )**

 **(With Victor)**

Looking around him with bland interest the grey haired man grinned slightly to himself as he saw the dead bodies lying around him. It hadn't been much of a fight, these men were untrained and most of them hadn't even known they were dead until they were.

It did somewhat take the fun out of the fight, then again the men were thugs and bullies, so Victor did not really care what whether they lived or died.

Hearing a slight creak behind him, Victor leaned back as he looked to see where the disturbance came from. As he did this he could see a number of scruffy looking civilians looking out at him from their hiding places.

Of these one of the braver ones decided to speak up.

"A-are you going to kill us?" A young looking man asked nervously as he acted as spokesmen for his fellow villagers.

"I wasn't planning on it… but I can do if you want me to?" Victor replied in amusement, chuckling to himself as he saw the man's face go very pale at his words.

"N-no sir we are fine thank you…" The man replied as he hastily back away, his fellow villagers also fleeing, probably trying to leave quickly in fear of Victor maybe changing his mind about killing them.

"Ah civilians, such cowards." Victor muttered to himself before he looked down at the scattered bodies around him, already pulling a storage scroll out from behind his back. "Best get too collecting some useful body parts."

He'd already been given a practical shopping list by the other members of his Clan in Kiri. The demanding lot tended to give him these lists when he was going out on his hunts, so they could maintain a healthy supply of well preserved organs and body parts in their compound.

 **( - )**

 **(With Raiga)**

Staggering backward from the black masked assassin who had just attacked him, Raiga clasped his left hand to his gut, channeling his chakra into that spot to soothe the pain from his semi-decay flesh.

Looking warily at the man in front of him, keeping his eyes on the deadly looking axe he had in his hand, the blade of which was now enshrouded in grey chakra. "What do you see, Ranmaru?" Raiga muttered as he took a step back, his eyes flickering to his Kiba blades that lay in the mud behind his assailant.

A soft voice replied back, the voice coming from the large backpack he had on his back, "It hurts… it hurts to look at him. He's not human; it is like he is a thousand people in one body…."

"What?" Raiga muttered in shock, having never heard Ranmaru sound so confused or scared.

Ranmaru shook his head from where he was nestled safely within Raiga's backpack, before he answered his red doujutsu filled with fear as he looked in Naruto's direction. "R-Raiga, he is to powerful for you to fight. His chakra it's not just his, it is like he is drawing it from hundreds of different people, all of them trapped inside him… he's a monster Raiga. W-We need to run now or he will kill us… we need to flee!"

Raiga was about to say something in response, but before he could, he heard Ranmaru shouting a warning to him, "Raiga he's coming get down!"

Raiga through instinct did what Ranmaru said, lunging into a low crouch. Just in time to as he saw two chain that looked like they were made out of the same bluish grey chakra his attacker used, piercing the air where he had been standing just moments ago. Rolling to the side he once again dodged as both of them chains jabbed downwards into the ground. The grass going brown and dying upon contact with the chakra, he as the earth began to crumble.

Rolling to his feet Raiga looked up in shock, only for his eyes to widen as he saw how the misty grey chains were coming from his masked attackers back. "What the hell are you?!" Raiga shouted as he pulled to kunai out of a pouch on his leg, holding them both at the ready.

The only answer he received was the masked man's form blurring as he charged him. His axe swinging at Raiga even as the man's chakra chains ripped themselves from the earth and shot towards his undefended back.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto scowled behind his mask as Raiga once again seemed to almost predict his attack as he avoided both of Naruto's chakra chains, both the first strike and the second. Lunging forward again Naruto held his axe tightly in his hands.

Side stepping Naruto avoided two kunai that Raiga threw at him, even as he continued his attack, swinging his axe at Raiga's legs so he could cripple him. Even as his chakra chains shot towards both of Raiga's shoulders, the plan being for the chains to literally disarm him while Naruto took his legs, that way his head would still be intact so they could claim his bounty.

It was not to be however as Raiga brought both his hands up in a hand seal, before releasing a powerful lightning jutsu at Naruto. **"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon!"**

Pulling his chakra chain back Naruto slammed them in front of him in the form of a cross in order to shield him from the lightning dragon. With a loud crash the lightning jutsu struck his defense, the nature of his chakra devouring Raiga's causing the lightning dragon to soon disperse.

Sending his chains forward once again, Naruto blinked as he saw how Raiga was no longer in front of him.

Hearing a slight rustle behind him, Naruto turned and saw that Raiga had gotten his hands on the Kiba blades again, holding the crackling blades defensively in front of him. Lunging forward Naruto didn't allow him a chance to properly use them, as his axe slapped one of the blades aside, leaving an opening in his defense.

One that Naruto soon took advantage of as a barbed grey chakra chain exploded from his chest, impaling Raiga through his sternum, before carrying on through his body and out the other side.

As this happened Naruto heard a grunt of agony from the former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist as his insides began to rapidly decay form contact with Naruto's chakra. He also heard a slight whimper from behind Raiga, closing his eyes Naruto channeled his chakra to his own eyes before he opened them.

Opening them again Naruto found his vision changed, all the colours having been replaced by different shades of grey as the only bright colours that could now be seen were the souls of those around him. Looking at the rapidly dying man in front of him, Naruto could see Raiga's blackened souls quite easily, but he could also see behind Raiga nestled in his backpack, another soul, and this one much bright and purer than Raiga's.

"So that must be how you were seeing my attacks." Naruto muttered to himself as he ripped his chakra chain out of both Raiga and the person on Raiga's back, the both of the collapsing to the floor dead as he did so. This was not surprising considering the blowing orbs of light attached to the chain, the physical representation of their souls. Both of the orbs being absorbed into his chest as the chakra chain returned to him.

Letting out a content sigh as he felt two new souls being absorbed into his body, their chakra soon being redirected into Naruto's own as You, Naruto's inner personality did what he did best.

"I hope you didn't destroy his head!" A familiar voice suddenly spoke out.

Looking up Naruto saw a bloody Clementine approaching him, with a content looking Victor following behind her.

"No the head is fine, and the Kiba's have now been recovered." Naruto replied as he stopped channeling chakra to his axe, before using it to behead Raiga. The axe was soon sealed back into his wrist tattoo after that. "Do you have a spare scroll for the body and the blades?"

"Nah sorry mine are all full up with spare parts." Victor replied nonchalantly as he looked around him, a look of interest on his face as he saw the savaged corpses of the bandits that had helped Raiga. "Wow you made a real mess of these guys eh Clementine."

"Lady Clementine." The blonde replied absently as she checked her own storage scrolls, scrolls that were kept on a small pouch on her thigh. "Yes, I do have a spare, was hoping to fill it with some spare meat, but I already have two scrolls full so my larder is pretty stocked."

"Good." Naruto replied as he took the proffered scroll, quickly getting to work in sealing up Raiga's head and Kiri's precious Kiba blades.

With that done Naruto then used his foot to kick Raiga's body over, so it was now lying on its front.

"What are you up to now ghost boy? Because I will tell you right now, I am not going to take a bite of that mess, especially not after your nasty chakra rotted him inside and out." Clementine asked as she looked at what Naruto was doing curiously.

Try thinking with anything other than your stomach cannibal." Naruto replied absentmindedly as he reached down and ripped the backpack of Raiga's back, the material tearing away to reveal a frail looking boy on his back.

The boy was dead, his eyes glazed in horror as the stared straight ahead. Turning his body Naruto looked closely at his dead eyes, taking note as he did of the chakra that was slowly flowing out of them, his body no longer constantly providing it now he was dead.

"This kid had a doujutsu." Naruto said with a frown as he looked up at his team. "Maybe some kind of variant of a Sharingan or a Byakugan I am not sure. Either way it allowed him to see through this bag in all directions and help Raiga in tracking my movements and predicting my attacks."

"Hmm sounds interesting." Victor said approaching Naruto, taking his mask off as he did. "Might be worth harvesting them."

"My thoughts exactly, my implanting them in another Kiri Shinobi once we have found out what they do and how they work." Naruto nodded along as he laid out the sealing scroll in his hand and proceeded to seal Ranmaru's remains up.

"How much room is there left in that scroll?" Clementine asked with a frown. "We'll need it to store Zabuza's head and sword."

"Should be plenty of room left, though I might just seal the Kiba blades and Zabuza's sword in these bad boys." Naruto replied as he gestured at the tattooed Fuinjutsu kanji on his wrists. Permanent seal kanji that allow him to seal his weapons etc. at will.

"Sounds good!" Victor said with excitement, his eyes fixed on where Ranmaru's body had been, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed curiosity about what secrets his body might hold.

"Can we get a move on? It's starting to stink around here." Clementine interrupted, her heightened senses making it so the stench of Raiga's decaying body almost overwhelmed her.

"Don't be so soft." Naruto replied as he raised his hands before releasing three more chakra chains, the thick grey blades wrapping around Raiga's body. Within seconds the intensity of the chakra Naruto's unique chains were emitting turned Raiga's body to dust, as it caused it to decay to a cellular level.

Unfortunately for Clementine though at the moment when Naruto dispersed his chains, a wind picked up, blowing up the dust that was Raiga straight into Clementine's face.

"For fucks sake!" Clementine shouted as she started hacking and coughing. "I really fucking hate you sometime!"

Naruto and Victor both just laughed at that.

"Come on then we better set off. Zabuza is over in the Land of Waves at the moment. Working for some Shipping Magnate called Gatou." Naruto said as he started moving, the others quickly following after him.

Within a matter of minutes the area was empty, leaving behind only silence and the dead and mutilated bodies of those who had gotten in the way of their hunt.

 **( - )**

 **(Two days ago in Konoha)**

Sat comfortably in his chair in the Hokage's Tower a pensive Minato Namikaze looked out across the Village he loved.

Three years, it had been three years since his eldest son had disappeared. Three years since the trail had gone cold, had he been kidnapped or had he run away. The evidence all pointed to him having run, no doubt after feeling oppressed by his and Kushina's concerns over his health. Something Minato had come to regret, after all a part of him knew that they had handled the situation wrong. They should have allowed him to become a Shinobi, certainly not a combat orientated Shinobi, no he was to weak and frail for that. Also not an interrogator he did not have the constitution to force the answers out of people. But maybe a Konoha based Medic-nin, someone devoted to healing, that way he would have worked in the hospital in a safe and controlled environment.

But such thoughts were pointless, he couldn't change what had been, instead he could only look to the future and hope that somewhere out there his son was alive, living a safe and happy life. That was the best he could hope for.

In the three years that had passed a lot had happened. His wife Kushina had given birth to another daughter, little Naruko named in honour of their missing son. Minato also believed that it helped to fill the hole left in their hearts, Naruko was their precious daughter, but she was also her own person, she was not a replacement for Naruto. But even so the joy she brought to their household managed to make up for the pain Naruto's absence had caused.

Aside from the birth of the newest member of the Namikaze Clan, His two daughters had enrolled and subsequently graduated from the Shinobi Academy. The both of them having finished at the top of their year, with Erza just beating Mito out for Kunoichi of the Year.

Erza after graduation had been approached by Yugao, who had taken time out of the ANBU just so she could take Erza on as a student. Apparently her natural talent with Kenjutsu had not gone unnoticed by those detailed to protect the Hokage and his family. Erza of course was given a choice of whether or not to accept the solo apprenticeship like several others had in the past, or reject it and join a team as was tradition.

Erza of course chose the apprenticeship and had for the last three months been working tirelessly under her new Sensei. An apprenticeship might be a rare honour but it was not easy, it was in fact much harder work than being on a team. But Erza had earned it through her own accomplishments, no one could deny that.

Mito however had been given no such offer; after all she mainly focused on Fuinjustu which she could ask her mother and father for help with at anytime. She had of course asked her mother Kushina about an apprenticeship with her, but Kushina had had to refuse, after all she had Naruko to look after and her own Shinobi work to do, minor though it currently was.

Mito had taken the rejection gracefully, knowing full well that both her parents would help her if she needed it. So instead of an apprenticeship she had gone on to join Team Seven, a team made up of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, a team that mostly work well together, a part from a bit of tension between Mito and Sakura.

It was at the thought of Sasuke Uchiha that Minato frowned. What had happened to the Uchiha Clan was truly a tragedy; things should not have gone down like they did. But unfortunately they had. His investigation into the matter had soon revealed the culprit behind the shambles, Danzo Shimura.

Suffice to say the man was now dead and his Root forces destroyed the agents either dead or rehabilitated. The man's passing had not been pleasant either, as Minato had personally led a coalition of ANBU and Elite Jonin on a mission to arrest Danzo before stripping every secret he had from him. His position as the Hokage's adviser was meaningless to Minato as he had the war hawk's mind brutally ripped apart as his every lie and secret was revealed.

Even now three years later they were still sorting through all of the man's deceit. Even if that meant covering up any involvement Konoha might have had when necessary, or terminating any loose ends that might point to Konoha.

It had been hard work and had left many dead. Fortunately though some good had come of it as they released some of the information out to neighbouring Shinobi Villages, building better ties with them. The Hidden Mist being one such Village they were now on at least amiable terms with. The new information had also led to the destruction of at least a dozen of Orochimaru's facilities and the termination of many of his experiments and henchmen.

Though the man himself was still not found, neither was his full network, which was concerning. Especially considering information Jiraiya had recently brought to him about a new Shinobi Village called Otogakure being created and a band of rogue power unknown Shinobi calling themselves the Akatsuki becoming more prominent.

Any other thoughts he might have had were soon ended as he heard a knock on his door, turning round in his chair and ignoring the shifting of his hidden ANBU who were hiding around the room. Minato instead just called for whoever it was to enter.

As the door opened Minato's previously pensive mood brightened considerable as he saw the familiar face and the large smile of his daughter Mito. The girl stood at barely five foot and was wearing blue Shinobi sandals, black knee length leggings, a mesh shirt and a light blue coloured battle dress. Around her waist as she had a thick black belt, that held a pouch I which were her kunai, shuriken and other standard Shinobi equipment. The belt also had a number of rolled up scrolls slotted into it, no doubts they were finished scrolls that held Fuinjutsu she could utilize whilst on a mission.

Alongside his now teenage daughter was also the last loyal Uchiha, the raven haired boy having a bored look on his face as he entered. His posture showing that he found everything around him tedious and that he thought he had better things to do. Besides him was the young Sakura, a pink haired girl around his daughters age who wore a similar garb to Mito, although without the belt of Fuinjutsu supplies and with a red dress. Looking at how similarly they were dressed a part of Minato wondered whether they had coordinated their fashion choice today, or whether it was just a coincidence.

Either way he ignored it as he instead focused on their Sensei and his former student Kakashi.

"And how was Team 7's most recent mission?" Minato asked with a barely contained smirk as he saw a dark look appear on the faces of the three young genin. Deep down Minato delighted in small childish displays like this from new genin as it showed him how much things had changed. As during the Third Shinobi War, children younger than those standing before him were already battle hardened soldiers. Them having missed out on their childhood due to the war, looking at the newer generation now he could only smile at how happy and carefree they were. Sure they would have to grow up very soon now they were Shinobi, but for the moment it was nice to see that they had at least enjoyed having a childhood.

"It went well Lord Hokage." Kakashi spoke up for his students, a smirk hidden behind the half mas he wore on his face.

"Well let's see what else we have in the way of D-ranks today?" Minato replied with a slight smile as he looked over to the stack of scrolls piled up on his desk.

"No!" Sasuke declared, "No more chores, Kakashi says we are ready for a C-rank. I am done doing these chores for those too lazy to do it themselves."

"Yeah, come on dad we've been genin for almost three months now, isn't it about time we have a proper mission!" Mito shouted out, agreeing with Sasuke as she looked at her father expectantly.

"Hey now my cute little students, you know that missions are broken up by experience and difficulty, there is a reason you genin mostly take D-rank missions." Kakashi replied nonchalantly not really that bothered either way what missions his team did.

"I don't care, I want something other than those damn D-ranks." Sasuke said again a scowl on his face as he looked expectantly at the Hokage.

Mito though didn't back him up this time as she saw the emotionless look on her father's face as he looked at them from behind his desk.

"Kakashi, do you really think they are ready?" Minato asked seriously as he eyed the Jonin.

Kakashi looked thoughtful at that before he nodded and let out a sigh before replying, "I believe they are."

"Very well then, since your Sensei thinks you capable, I have a C-rank which should suit your team rather well." Minato replied as he reached for a recent request that had just come in, a simple protection job for some bridge builder in the and of Waves. "Looks like you will be going to the Land of Waves..."

 **AN: So I bet you can predict what will be happening next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter I enjoyed writing it. If anyone wants to know anything just ask and I will try to get back to you.**

 **Please do leave a review or comments as they are much appreciated as they tell me how I am doing.**

 **See you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: SO yeah my ideas for this story aren't leaving me yet and my muse is on full blast. Which basically means another chapter for you with the next one around ninety percent complete. The response has been great as to have the comments. With one person pointing out a mistake I made which to that person I will say I appreciate it.**

 **Also some have asked about whether or not Naruto can take bloodlines. I am going to say he can't take the bloodlines of the souls he devours so yeah for this story Naruto won't be able to take other peoples bloodlines as he is already pretty OP if you think about it. That being said his abilities have not been fully explored yet so who knows what his limits could be...**

 **Anyway please enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 10**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

" _And how was Team 7's most recent mission?" Minato asked with a barely contained smirk as he saw a dark look appear on the faces of the three young genin. Deep down Minato delighted in small childish displays like this from new genin as it showed him how much things had changed. As during the Third Shinobi War, children younger than those standing before him were already battle hardened soldiers. Them having missed out on their childhood due to the war, looking at the newer generation now he could only smile at how happy and carefree they were. Sure they would have to grow up very soon now they were Shinobi, but for the moment it was nice to see that they had at least enjoyed having a childhood._

" _It went well Lord Hokage." Kakashi spoke up for his students, a smirk hidden behind the half mas he wore on his face._

 _"Well let's see what else we have in the way of D-ranks today?" Minato replied with a slight smile as he looked over to the stack of scrolls piled up on his desk._

 _"No!" Sasuke declared, "No more chores, Kakashi says we are ready for a C-rank. I am done doing these chores for those too lazy to do it themselves."_

" _Yeah, come on dad we've been genin for almost three months now, isn't it about time we have a proper mission!" Mito shouted out, agreeing with Sasuke as she looked at her father expectantly._

 _"Hey now my cute little students, you know that missions are broken up by experience and difficulty, there is a reason you genin mostly take D-rank missions." Kakashi replied nonchalantly not really that bothered either way what missions his team did._

 _"I don't care, I want something other than those damn D-ranks." Sasuke said again a scowl on his face as he looked expectantly at the Hokage._

 _Mito though didn't back him up this time as she saw the emotionless look on her father's face as he looked at them from behind his desk._

" _Kakashi, do you really think they are ready?" Minato asked seriously as he eyed the Jonin._

 _Kakashi looked thoughtful at that before he nodded and let out a sigh before replying, "I believe they are."_

 **( - )**

 **(Now with Team 7)**

"Very well then, since your Sensei thinks you capable, I have a C-rank which should suit your team rather well." Minato replied as he reached for a recent request that had just come in, a simple protection job for some bridge builder in the and of Waves. "Looks like you will be going to the Land of Waves..."

It was later, during the afternoon, that Mito felt a slight disturbance with her sensory abilities. Looking around her, she scrunched up her in confusion as she could clearly feel two people with high reserves of chakra nearby. High reserves of chakra could normally only mean one thing, and that was other Shinobi. What was more concerning for Mito was that these Shinobi were stationary, lying in wait, and due to their proximity she could only conclude that they were lying in wait for her and her team.

With that Mito's pace slowed slightly as she concentrated the two chakra sources. Her blue eyes flickering side to side as she looked for where these Shinobi might be hiding. Noticing her pace slow the other members of her team also naturally slowed down a bit so they remained in the same formation. Sasuke and Sakura her team mates shot her questioning looks at her actions, something she ignored as she instead looked over to Kakashi wondering if he too could sense the nearby Shinobi.

The grey hared man didn't even look up, despite the fact Mito knew that he knew she was trying to get his attention. Instead he just continued to casually walk down the road, his pornographic little book in hand as he did so.

Looking forward once more Mito's eyes narrowed as she noticed to puddles lying innocently in their path. They were small innocuous little things, pools of water that Mito under normal circumstances would just walk by not even noticing them. But with her sensory abilities, an ability she inherited due to her Uzumaki heritage, and probably enhanced by the Bijuu she knew she had sealed in her gut, she knew that something was not right. Those puddles were emitting chakra, and also a little bit of blood lust.

Reaching slowly for the pouch attached to her belt, Mito very carefully drew two kunai. Making sure to do it in a way that would not attract attention, these innocuous puddles were not simply innocent pools of water, no they were a Genjutsu, a subtle illusion hiding two Shinobi who were lying in wait. Looking once more over at Kakashi Mito frowned as once more it didn't look like he had noticed.

Continuing on next to Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna as they walked right past the puddle, none of them sparing it a glance at the two hidden Shinobi, Mito caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Kakashi glancing ever so slightly at the puddles as she passed.

Seeing this caused Mito to let out a slight sigh of relief, at first she had thought she had been the only one to see it. But if Kakashi had seen it, and he hadn't said anything to any of them, then maybe it was just a test or maybe they were supposed to be there.

It was as Mito was thinking that thought that she felt the sudden spike of chakra as two men appeared behind his team, bursting forward from where the puddles had previously been each a little farther back and to the side of where Kakashi was currently stood, just behind the rest of their group. Mito's eyes widened in shock as she noticed the look of surprise on the Jonin's face as two serrated chains wrap around him. Whirling round her kunai already drawn, Mito's faced showed her own confusion over the situation, she had been sure that Kakashi had noticed them, but the look of surprise she saw on his face, did not look fake.

"One down." Their two attackers said as the three genin's eyes widened and the chain wrapped around Kakashi suddenly squeezed sending bloody scraps of Kakashi splattering across the path.

"K-Ka-Kakashi!" Sakura yelled as she broke the group's formation and began backing away her eyes locked on the two men who were attacking them with abject fear in her eyes. "They got Sensei!"

Sasuke though like Mito was already in motion, drawing a shuriken and kunai knife, he tossed the shuriken at a tree as he launched himself into the air. Tazuna the bridge builder they were supposed to be protecting, backing away in horror at what he saw.

Dashing towards their attackers with Sasuke at her side, hoping to make up for Sakura initially breaking the formation, Mito noticed that both of their attackers had breathing masks on their faces covering their mouths, noses and chins with scratched forehead protectors resting across their foreheads with metal attachments that looked like horns. One had spiky hair while the other's hair fell across his head closely resembling a mop. They both had chunin flak jackets, symbolizing their rank, and camouflage pants leading down to their Shinobi sandals. The most glaring object on the both of them though, was the clawed metal gauntlets they were both wearing that had a chain connecting the two of them.

Mito held back a moment as she saw Sasuke's shuriken slam into a tree, piercing one of the links in the chain that connected the two men to the tree as well. Sasuke reached a certain height and flung his kunai knife just as the two men began to rush forward,

"Two down." The same man from before said as both he and his companion released the chain connecting them before they rushed Sasuke, aiming to kill him whilst he was off guard from throwing his shuriken

They didn't get that chance though as Mito chose that moment to strike, using her small size and speed she manage to get within the guard of the first attack. Dodging under his clawed gauntlet, she slammed her small but powerful fist into the man's sternum, knocking the air out of his lungs with the blow. As the man staggered backwards Mito followed up with a slash of her kunai, aiming for the man's throat. But by then the man had recovered enough to jump backwards, this led to the blade missing its target and instead slicing through his shirt and giving him a small cut on his chest.

"Bitch!" The man grunted as he lunged forward again, ignoring how his companion had now engaged the young Uchiha in a fight, the two giving out and dodging blows as they darted around.

Raising her now bloody kunai, Mito brought her other hand up, creating a cross shaped hand seal, as she used a favoured jutsu of hers, one that her mother had taught her and her sister due to their excessive amount of chakra. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu"**

Around her five exact copies of Mito appeared, all five of them crouched low, identical kunai's held in their hands as they kept their sharp eyes on their attackers.

None of them had a chance to attack though as with a swirl of wind a completely uninjured Kakashi revealed himself. The grey haired man making a suitably dramatic entrance as he landed on Sasuke's attacker sending him crashing into the ground, before he darted forward in a blur and smashed into Mito's attacker, knocking him down and out with a single blow.

"Well that could have gone better." Kakashi said as he looked around at his students. "Sakura you broke formation and ran away, Mito you did not think to warn your teammates that there was a nearby threat and Sasuke you did not bother to inform the others of your plan you just acted without though of the consequences."

Sasuke scowled at that before he looked away, glaring off into the distance.

Sakura seemed to shrink in on herself and avoided making eye contact with anyone else.

Mito however scowled at Kakashi before speaking up. "I saw that you had also seen it Sensei, and because of your lack of reaction or the fact you didn't inform the others I didn't either!"

"Ahh well you should always share information, as you never know when it may be useful or even save a life. That being said I can understand why you wouldn't' have in this scenario." Kakashi replied a little bit nervously as he realized why Mito hadn't informed the others. "But anyway the good points were that both Mito and Sasuke took the initiative when they thought had been killed. Speaking of initiative, Mito and Sasuke can you secure those two so the ANBU can pick them up for interrogation later?" Kakashi said as she gestured to the two groaning Missing-nins.

Both Sasuke and Mito nodded as they got to work on disarming and then tying up their two attackers. Mito making sure to put one of her own Fuinjutsu seals on the men that would restrict their chakra stopping them from escaping from their bonds.

While this was happening Kakashi continued speaking "As I was saying before excusing your initial mistakes, you lot did quite well in the end. These guys are chunin level Shinobi formerly from Kirigakure and they are known for not giving up when fighting. Now the question is why two Shinobi attacked us whilst we are on a simple bandit protection mission." Kakashi finished as he looked over at the client Tazuna.

Tazuna paled and nodded as he saw the dangerous look in Kakashi's eye and also how the red haired girl and the black haired boy were also looking up at him from where they were securing their attackers,

"It's true, this mission is probably more than what you knew about but I had no choice. I have a super bad guy coming after me. His name is quite famous." Tazuna said as he raised his hand defensively in front of him.

"Who?" Kakashi questioned a curious look in his eyes.

"The wealthy shipping magnate, Gatou." Tazuna said with a tired and exhausted sigh, seeming to shrink into himself at just the mention of the man's name.

"The same Gatou who is said by many to be one of the wealthiest men in the world?" Kakashi asked with slight surprise his mind already spinning at what this could mean. A man as rich as Gatou would likely have a lot of muscle to back him up, that included Shinobi muscle.

Tazuna nodded, "Yes, legally, he owns and manages a shipping business. But illegally, he sells drugs and other illegal items to others and uses ninja and gangs to take places over. About a year ago, he set his sights on our small country and quickly took control over all of our shipping companies. He has complete control over what enters and leaves the country. The only opponent to his control is the completion of my bridge." Tazuna said and he was right his control over Wave was complete due to his control over who can enter and exist and what they can and cannot take with them. Tazuna's bridge though would break this monopoly.

"So, you're in the way?" Mito asked. "That's why he is sending Shinobi after you, to kill you so you can't break his hold on Wave?"

Tazuna nodded, "We aren't a wealthy country. Even the Feudal Lord isn't that rich. We didn't have the funds necessary for an expensive B-rank. I could only afford a C-rank mission." He said before adopting a slightly pathetic look on his face. "Eh, but if you quit now, I will definitely die. It won't be a problem. It's only that my super cute little grandson will cry for days when he finds out." he said as he let out a loud fake laugh, "And my super beautiful daughter will just hate Konoha Shinobi forever, but it won't be your fault. Not at all." he said as he turned away from them with a knowing gleam in his eye.

Kakashi looked at the man with a deadpan expression even as he felt the expectant expression on the faces of his students as they all looked to him.

Kakashi sighed at that knowing that they wouldn't leave him alone until he accepted. Rolling his eyes he said, "Well, I guess we can escort you to your country."

What Kakashi neglected to say though, was that if he deemed his students to be in danger he would happily abandon the mission and leave Tazuna to his fate. The lives and well being of his team superseded a lying client any day.

Grinning slightly at the thought of the exciting mission to come Mito joined the rest of their team as they set off heading in the direction of the coast, where they would be meeting a friend of Tazuna's who would take them over to the island of Wave. The part of the coast they were headed to was a popular crossing point, as it was at this point that the Island of Wave was closest to the Elemental Nation's mainland.

 **( - )**

 **(Barely an hour later with Naruto)**

Leaping silently from tree to tree Naruto, Clementine and Victor made great speed as they moved parallel to a dirt road. They were headed for the nearby coastline, the point at which it was easiest to cross due to how close the Island of Wave was to the mainland at that point. It was so close in fact that a Shinobi could use 'Water Walking' and run the distance. This was much better than if they had used another point along the coast, as then they would have had to run across the water in two stages due to the chakra usage and continuous amount of control needed.

The silence they were travelling in was soon broken by Clementine. The blonde girl came to a sudden stop on a nearby branch causing both Naruto and Victor to come to a stop too.

"What's up?" Naruto asked instantly, knowing Clementine wouldn't just stop for any reason.

"Shinobi up ahead." Clementine her eyes narrowed as she glared forward. "Two of them and they're not moving."

"Some kind of ambush?" Naruto asked as he unsealed his axe, the comforting feel of the axe in his hand helping him focus as he closed his eyes, channeling his chakra to them before opening them again, as he did so his crimson irises glowed slightly.

Looking in the direction Clementine was almost everything appeared in shades of grey, everything of course but the souls of the living. Flicking his eyes back and forth Naruto dismissed some of the smaller glowing blue shapes that ran around the forest, birds, hares, foxes…. Looking up ahead though he could see two larger shapes in the distance, these ones were in the shape of men, they glowed brightly showing that they had more chakra than an average human and they had dark flecks floating around in them, something that usually signified Shinobi. Something was a bit strange though, he also could see a small black seal on their glowing chests, and the seal seemed to be restricting the men's chakra.

Closing his eyes again Naruto stopped channeling his chakra to them; this meant that when he opened them his vision returned to normal. Looking over to Clementine he spoke. "You're right, two Shinobi about mid-chunin level in strength, though from the looks of it someone has stuck a seal on them, stopping them from using their chakra."

"So not an ambush then?" Victor concluded as he looked from Naruto to Clementine. "What do we do?"

"We question them of course find out what happened, and if they have a bounty we take their heads if not…" Naruto replied a thoughtful expression on his face. "We kill them anyway, remember no witnesses if possible."

"Sounds good." Clementine said as she once again set of moving, both Victor and Naruto following after her.

Soon enough they made it two the two incapacitated Shinobi, all here of them appearing in front of the tree the two were tied to.

"Well look at our luck." Naruto spoke out as he looked down at the tied up Shinobi. "If it isn't the Demon Brothers, what are Zabuza's little bitches doing so far away from their boss?"

The brothers glared up at Naruto for that comment but otherwise stayed silent.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot, these two will have plenty of information about Zabuza and what he's up to. Plus they each have a bounty on their heads, it's not much but it will at least pay for a few rounds at Mina's place." Naruto continued as he looked down at the two men.

"We aren't telling you fuckers anything! You might as well just kill us!" One of the brothers snarled the other one just stoically glaring up at them.

"It's a good thing then that we don't need you to cooperate then isn't it." Naruto replied before without any warning he swung his axe, beheading both Shinobi at the same time, their heads hitting the ground with a dull thump, a shock expression on each of their faces.

As Naruto did that two chakra chains burst out of his left palm, slamming into the now headless Demon Brother's chests before Naruto ripped them out his chains wrapped around both of their souls as he retracted them, absorbing both of their souls as he did so. Collapsing in on themselves both of the soon disintegrated, the restriction of their chakra making it so they had absolutely no protection against Naruto's own deadly chakra which meant that after a few seconds all that was left of the Demon Brother's of the Mist were their heads, and a pile of grey dust.

"Fucking cowards." Naruto muttered contemptuously a he looked down at their severed heads.

"Well shit what crawled up your arse and died?" Clementine asked her pink eyes slightly wide as she saw how brutally Naruto ended the incapacitated brothers.

"They were traitors; they abandoned Kiri and the rebellion first chance they got. They didn't even look back." Naruto replied as he closed his eyes and contacted You, absorbing the memories that were recovered from the devoured soul. They were getting better at it, being able to get more and more from the souls. Soon enough Naruto was hoping that they would be able to absorb all of a Shinobi's memories, but that was a way off at the moment.

"Good point." Victor replied nodding along with Naruto. He too had also heard of the brothers. They had fled Kiri with Zabuza, soon after the swordsman had tried to assassinate the Mizukage. He had of course failed and run off fleeing the Land of Water as fast as he could. The brother's had merely followed him, only they had never taken a stand instead they had run out of fear.

"Still seems a bit much." Clementine added in. "Tell me are you so pissed off because they betrayed Kiri or is it because they betrayed Mei."

"Turns out the sources were right. Zabuza is in the Land of Wave, working for that Gatou. But apparently he has an apprentice. Some girl who thinks it is fun to play dress up by pretending to be a Hunter-nin." Naruto said as he crouched down and sealed up the Demon Brother's heads. "It also appears that the bridge builder, this Tazuna has some Shinobi protection."

Naruto frowned deeply as he said that, the memories he had seen, had him concerned.

"Anything that we should be worried about?" Clementine asked as she stopped her teasing, sensing his discomfort.

"Maybe." Naruto replied still frowning as he focused on the memories he had received, he recognised three of the four Shinobi protecting Tazuna and he was for once unsure on how to act. "The bridge builder is guarded by the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake and his genin team. The team includes Mito Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha and some no named girl who I don't recognise."

"Hmm, sounds like trouble." Victor replied a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What seriously?!" Clementine asked incredulously. "Kakashi maybe tough but the three of us together are more than enough to take him. As for the genin they wouldn't stand a chance, we could butcher them with ease!"

"No!" Naruto snapped harshly as he turned to Clementine, the blonde haired girl's eyes widening as she heard the dangerous note in Naruto's tone. Letting out a sigh Naruto forced himself to calm down. "It is more complicated than that. These aren't just any Shinobi, they have connections. Mito Namikaze is the daughter of the Fourth Hokage. Whilst Sasuke Uchiha is the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha."

In reality Naruto would not really care if he had to kill Kakashi he had never really interacted with the man. As such he didn't really care whether he lived or died.

The same to a certain extent could be said for Sasuke. Naruto didn't really know the boy, but he did know his brother Itachi. He also knew that there was something odd about the Uchiha massacre, Itachi wasn't the type of person who enjoyed suffering or taunting his enemies. So then why would he leave his brother alive, unless he had a specific reason for sparing him. What that reason was Naruto didn't know, but what he did know is that he wouldn't want Itachi as an enemy.

As for Mito he would not allow anything to happen to the girl, she was his sister and he loved her. This meant that even if he had to fight his own team off he wouldn't allow anything to happen to her. Though hopefully it wouldn't come to that as he loved and trusted his team implicitly just as they did the same for him.

The pink haired girl whoever she was, was a nonentity, Naruto wouldn't care what happened to her.

"I doubt Itachi Uchiha would really care about what happens to his brother considering he massacred his entire Clan. Though I do see you point about the Fourth Hokage. Even all three of us going all out wouldn't stand a chance against him." Victor added in with a sagely nod to Naruto.

"Yeah aright I will agree with that to." Clementine also said even if it was grudgingly. "But then what do we do if these Konoha tree huggers interfere in our mission."

"Simple if they don't interfere we leave them alone. If they do interfere we do as Mei said, we neutralize them. Though I warn you now the red haired girl and the black haired boy are not to be harmed. Well the black haired boy can be harmed just not to badly… well okay as long as you leave him alone that is fine."Naruto replied with a shrug, making his order clear for his team mates. Mito is off limits, the others are free game but only if they interfere.

"What the fuck is it with you and red heads!" Clementine asked irritably even as both she and Victor agreed to do as he said. Naruto had never steered them wrong before and they very much doubted his caution over this Konoha team was unwarranted.

"I don't know what you mean." Naruto sniffed looking away from Clementine as he did so.

"She does have a point; you do seem to have an unhealthy fascination with our Mizukage, and now with the Namikaze girl…?" Victor added in with a slight grin at Naruto's discomfort.

"I do not have an unhealthy fascination with the Mizukage we simply have a good working relationship." Naruto replied irritably as he jumped up into the trees, not even dignifying the comment about his sister with a response.

"Ha! Good working relationship she pretty much lets you get away with murder. Seriously the way she dotes on you sometimes makes it seem like the two of you are banging. Whilst you are always getting pissed off whenever anyone says anything negative and are like obsessed with following her rules." Clementine mocked as both she and Victor followed Naruto into the trees.

"I am not having relations with the Mizukage!" Naruto shouted in response before adding on a barely heard. "Unfortunately" at the end,

"Oh and Clementine you do know Mei is our Mizukage you are supposed to follow all her orders and defend her. IT is kind of our jobs as Kiri Shinobi…" Naruto added on with a deadpan.

"Yeah shut up I know that!" Clementine responded even as she stopped mocking Naruto.

"Well at least now she does!" Victor cackled as the table turned on Clementine.

"Oh go steal a dick!" Clementine shouted in response.

"Why don't you go eat a dick?!" Victor snapped back with a grin.

"You offering?" Clementine replied slyly as she bared her teeth at her two male teammates.

Instantly the both of them flinched as their hands moved to cover their privates.

 **( - )**

 **(With Team 7)**

"Everyone remain vigilant, we are in hostile territory now. Make sure you all remain in formation around Tazuna." Kakashi said as his team formed back up around Tazuna, before they set off heading in land and in the direction of where Tazuna had said his house was. Mito was using her sensory abilities almost constantly as she moved with her team. Kakashi had made to impress upon them all just how serious the mission was whilst they were travelling on the boat.

They had been travelling for about twenty minutes before Mito sensed something, with barely a thought she quickly took out a shuriken and tossed it into the bushes, even as she signaled for her team to come to a halt, her sensory ability had picked up a chakra signature on the edge of her range. This time she was taking no chances, she was going to make sure every member of her team knew what was happening.

Stalking forward and pushing the bushes aside she looked to see what she had hit. Instead of a person like she was expecting she instead saw a dead rabbit, her shuriken lodged in its throat.

"Mito, look what you have done!" Sakura yelled as she rushed forward breaking formation as she headed for the rabbit.

Mito however ignored her, her violet eyes instead looking around the silent forest. She could still sense the chakra presence, but couldn't quite triangulate on where it was. Closing her eyes she tried to extend her senses, pushing her abilities further than she had before. Opening them again a look of shock on her face she looked to Kakashi. She had sensed the chakra she was searching for, but she had also sensed the very distant presence of for more chakra signatures.

' _That bunny is white, but it's spring. The coat should be brown; this has been kept in a cage to be used for a substitution jutsu. They're already here._ ' Kakashi thought to himself, oblivious to what Mito had just sensed as he began sense around for chakra, though his abilities were a lot weaker than Mito's. "Sakura get back in formation!" Kakashi called out even as he tried to sense for an enemy.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Mito called out ignoring Sakura as she tried to get Kakashi's attention. "There is a powerful chakra signature nearby and three others though they are further away!"

Kakashi's eye flashed to Mito at that, knowing for a fact that her sensory skills were better than his. He almost cursed himself as he heard that there were four possible enemies coming after Tazuna. Before he could reply though both he and Mito spun around, both looking at a tree branch before yelling simultaneously, "Down!"

Hearing the command five people instantly hit the ground with Sakura being dragged by Mito since she was worrying over the dead rabbit.

They were all lucky they did to as all of them managed to narrowly avoid being hit by a huge flying sword that had just embedded itself into another tree just behind them. Looking up Mito, Kakashi and Sasuke all noticed that there was another in their presence as they instantly jumped back to their feet.

The man had spiky black hair with a scratched Kiri forehead protector, signifying that he like the two who attacked them before, was a Missing-nin from Kirigakure. He had bandages wrapped around his mouth which extended to his neck. He wore no shirt leaving his torso exposed to the elements, but on his legs and arms were long arm and leg warmers. He wore striped Shinobi trousers that disappeared under his leg warmers and then gave way to his black Shinobi sandals.

Looking up Mito forgot about the other chakra signature drawing closer as she instead took stock of the man's before her and just how much chakra he had, it was just as much if not more than her Sensei, Kakashi. For a moment she began to take a step back slightly cowed by the amount of chakra his man was giving off. But then she found her resolve. She Was Mito fucking Namikaze; she was the daughter of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the sister of Naruto, Erza and Naruko Namikaze. She would never back down. With her resolve hardened Mito drew her kunai, even as she summoned nine shadow clones, eight of the clones taking up a defensive position around Tazuna as they did so, whilst the remaining clone dragged Sakura back into the defensive formation.

"Sasuke!" Mito called to the shocked looking Uchiha. "Get back into formation.

The raven haired boy glared at her for giving him a command but still did it anyway as he backed away from the man until he too had joined the diamond shaped defensive formation around Tazuna,.

Whilst this was happening Kakashi had narrowed his eyes at the newcomer as he heard how Mito took control of the team. 'Good job Mito.' He thought as he continued to glare down the Shinobi who had thrown the sword. His fingers twitching as he prepared to leap into action at any moment.

"Zabuza Momochi, Missing-nin of Kirigakure, this man is on a whole other level, get back and protect the client." he said to his team as he faced his opponent, his bored act dropping as he prepared himself for the fight to come.

"Kakashi no Sharingan, the Copy Ninja of Konoha. The man said to have copied over a thousand jutsu. No wonder, I doubt the Demon Brothers even stood a chance. But, the bridge builder is mine Kakashi." Zabuza replied as he looked down on the Konoha Shinobi from his perch in a tree.

" _Sharingan!_ " Sasuke thought as he looked at his Sensei in confusion. Mito didn't even blink, she had known Kakashi for a long time, not well of course, but he had regularly visited their house. As such she knew he had a Sharingan, the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan hidden under his lopsided forehead protector.

Kakashi ignored his students stare as he lifted his lopsided headband to show his left eye, revealing an eye with a red iris, black pupil, and three black tomoes, seeing this Sasuke's hands clenched in anger. While Mito looked away and instead tried to focus on the other signatures she had sensed approaching.

"Sharingan? What does that do?" Sakura asked, she knew of the bloodline but she didn't know what it did.

"Ah, the Sharingan, I get to see it so early. I'm honored." Zabuza said mockingly even as he bent his legs slightly, preparing to lunge into action.

"It is said some eyes have the power to defeat any nin, gen, or taijutsu style. The Sharingan is one of these. But that's not all." Sasuke answered the slightest hints of smugness seeping into his voice as he spoke about his Clan's prized bloodline.

"That's right, the most feared ability of the Sharingan is that it can copy its opponent's abilities and make it their own." Zabuza finished. "When I was on Mist's assassination team, your name was one that was feared Kakashi, but it seems you have met your match, I need that bridge builder dead." He said as he jumped and grabbed his sword from the tree,

"It seems I will have to beat you first." Zabuza continued before he disappeared in a burst of speed. The three genin and nine shadow clones quickly tightened their protective formation around Tazuna with their kunai's out. Even as Mito continued to focus on her sensory ability.

Opening her eyes with shock and a slight amount of fear Mito called out to Kakashi. "Sensei the other three signatures are very close now!"

And they were Mito could feel them and what she felt truly frightened her. The closest signature was one that felt quite powerful; it radiated large amounts of chakra that were at least high chunin level.

The others though were the ones that truly frightened her. Two of the signature would rank at maybe mid-Jonin level, not as powerful as Kakashi's or Zabuza's but a lot more than Sakura and Sasuke possessed. But it was the last one that frightened her, she knew that due to her having the Kyuubi sealed in her and her Uzumaki heritage that she possessed for more chakra than a normal person, more than even Kakashi had. But the approaching person possessed more than her, and unlike hers, this person's was completely controlled. If she were to compare it in sheer density and power she would liken it to either he father's or Jiraiya's chakra.

Mito wished that she could be able to sense more about the incoming Shinobi, but her control over her sensory abilities were not at that level yet. Her mother had told her that with the right training she would soon be able to sense not just the nature of a person's chakra but also the nature of the person themselves. But that for Mito was still some ways away.

Looking up and once more engaging in the current situation, Mito's eyes widened as she realised that Zabuza was no longer visible, instead the area around them was slowly being covered by a chakra dense shroud of mist.

"Mito, Sasuke be on guard. This is Zabuza's Hidden Mist jutsu; he will use it to hide himself so he can strike us unseen." Kakashi spoke up, his main concern at the moment being over the powerful A-rank Shinobi facing him; though he was still wary about the three other presences Mito had alerted him to.

" _There are eight choices on the human body that I could choose from._ " Zabuza's disembodied voice floated through the mist, an action that caused all the members of Team 7 to tense as they looked around. Mito's clones as nervous as the girl herself was. " _Liver, Lung, Spine, Clevical vein, Neck vein, Brain, Kidneys, and Heart. Which should I choose?_ " Zabuza continued to question from his position within the mist.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he looked into the mist, search for the disembodied voice, "Zabuza was a master of Silent killing. So remember keep on guard."

All of a sudden, the three genin felt the Killer Intent of both their sensei and enemy shoot up. Sasuke and Sakura began to shake as Mito felt a bead of sweat make its way down her face, she and her sister had been trained by their parents whilst they were still young, as such they had felt the full and terrifying fury of their mother Kushina Uzumaki, as such she was a lot more accustomed to KI than her teammates.

" _So this is two Jonin doing battle?_ " Sasuke questioned, before he thought ' _The air is so heavy; one could go mad in here. I almost want to end it just to be away from here._ ' Upon thinking this, his hand holding his kunai began to shake uncontrollably.

"Come on Sasuke it is time for you to man up. This is it; this is what we spent the last three years training for. Don't be a wuss at the first chance of real action." Mito spoke out through gritted teeth as her eyes flickered to Sasuke. Hoping to bait her teammate into finding his nerve.

" _Pathetic!_ " Zabuza's voice snarled before with a swirl of mist he appeared near the genin. Twirling around Kakashi moved fast, his kunai already in hand as he turned to face Zabuza.

But by then Mito's reflexes had already kicked in, the slight chakra spike Zabuza caused with his appearance was all the warning she needed. As both her and three of her clones acted on instinct and thrust their kunai forward, impaling Zabuza in four different places.

 _Splash._

Zabuza's body turned into water before it broke apart, revealing itself to in fact be a water clone dispelled from Mito's strike; Mito though was trying to keep her resolve as she felt multiple spikes of chakra appearing from within the mist.

Zabuza soon made his presence known again as he appeared behind and slashed him with his blade. Only for Kakashi's body to turn to water revealing that he had also been a water clone.

"It's over." Kakashi said as he once again appeared behind Zabuza with a kunai to the man's neck.

"Ha you wish!" Zabuza muttered a smirk on his face behind his mask.

Before either of them could say or do anything else though they both moved in blurs, jumping apart as a sudden shower of shuriken landed where they had been stood previously.

'What!' Kakashi thought as he looked to where his team was still standing, a frown on his face as he realized that they had not been the ones who had interrupted the fight.

Zabuza also frowned as he looked at the shuriken embedded into the ground before he looked around. "Haku!" Zabuza shouted, only for a blur to appear next to him.

The Shinobi was dressed in a black kimono with blue trimming. The person's face was covered with a white mask with the symbol of Kirigakure on the top of it. Two bangs fell in front of the mask with the rest of it tied behind the person's back. A scarf-like piece of cloth was tied as a belt around the person's waist and the person had sandals on. Since no skin could be shown nobody could tell what gender this person was at first glance.

"A Kirigakure Hunter-nin?" Kakashi as he backed away do he was once again in front of his team of genin.

Mito frowned at that, this she recognised was the high chunin level Shinobi that had been hanging around quite close to them. But Kakashi named them to be a Hunter-nin, a Shinobi who specialized in hunting down and killing rogue Shinobi. Yet this Shinobi did not appear aggressive to Zabuza, who himself was a Missing-nin from Kirigakure, in fact the Hunter-nin almost seemed submissive and had appeared when Zabuza called.

"Yes Master Zabuza." The now named Haku replied in a bland and emotionless voice.

"Were you the one to interfere?" Zabuza asked as he kept a wary eye on Kakashi.

"No, I do not know where those shuriken came from." Haku replied calmly.

"You're not a real Hunter-nin are you?" Kakashi stated rhetorically as he assessed the newcomer.

"Oh, how truly astute of you Kakashi Hatake." A mocking female voice called out from the surrounding misty forest.

Hefting his large six foot sword Zabuza glared around him, looking for where the voice was coming from using his own limited sensory abilities to help, with Kakashi doing exactly the same thing.

Mito did the same, though with her abilities she soon locked onto the three power chakra signatures she had felt before. All three were here, all of them so close it was almost suffocating.

"Kakashi-sensei, they are…" Mito began, only to stop as a shuriken slammed into the ground at her feet.

"Kakashi Hatake, we will give you this one warning. Leave the area now and take your genin team with you. Do that and we won't have a problem?!" A different voice spoke out; this one was soft spoke and male.

"And how can I trust you if you won't even show your face!?" Kakashi called out as he continued trying to lock onto the voice, however due to Zabuza's Hidden Mist jutsu still being in effect he was finding that very difficult, even with the Sharingan.

"You are telling Kakashi to go, which mean you are most likely here for me!" Zabuza suddenly called out. "Kakashi has a high bounty than me which means you are not bounty hunters and the only reason someone would have to come after me if not for the bounty would be because of my old affiliation with Kirigakure. You are Hunter-nins are you not?"

"Oh he is a clever one isn't he?" The female voice spoke out again.

"True, but when has being clever ever saved someone's life?" A different male voice asked with this one filled with humour as if he found this entire situation hilarious.

"I will repeat what I said early, leave this place Kakashi, or what happens next will be on your head." The soft yet confident male voice spoke up again.

"And as I said, I will not trust your word until you reveal yourselves." Kakashi replied stubbornly, knowing as he did so that if he and his team were to retreat than it was possible these unknown Shinobi would attack them from behind. For all he knew they could be some of Zabuza's other accomplices.

"Then we have a stalemate." The same voice as before replied blandly.

 **( - )**

 **AN: A bit cliffy I know but the next chapter is almost finished and it is pretty damn... well I am not going to ruin it for you. On another note the next chapter I will be doing is the one for this story, after that I will focus on getting the next chapter of my other story Ten Tailed Wolf out. Though then I will come back to this depending on the reception. Though it is also possible I will begin working on some of my other stories. Am not sure yet, will see how the mood takes me.**

 **In relation to this story though I will say that although Naruto is the main character other characters will also get a point of view such as what happened with Mito in this chapter. The reason is that I want to develop all the main characters in my story including Naruto's family.**

 **Also some concern has been shown about how Victor has an English name. I can understand why that maybe annoying so if it bothers a lot of people I can use the Japanese version of the name if there is one.**

 **So other than that, yeah I will see you next time. Please leave a comment or a review.**

 **Seagate.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Well here is the next chapter I hope you all like it. It has some twists and turns in it but I hope you trust me enough to know things won't always be as they seem. So yeah I hope you enjoy the chapter as I did put a lot of work into it and also please do leave a comment or review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

 **Chapter 11**

 **(Last Time)**

 _The Shinobi was dressed in a black kimono with blue trimming. The person's face was covered with a white mask with the symbol of Kirigakure on the top of it. Two bangs fell in front of the mask with the rest of it tied behind the person's back. A scarf-like piece of cloth was tied as a belt around the person's waist and the person had sandals on. Since no skin could be shown nobody could tell what gender this person was at first glance._

" _A Kirigakure Hunter-nin?" Kakashi as he backed away do he was once again in front of his team of genin._

 _Mito frowned at that, this she recognised was the high chunin level Shinobi that had been hanging around quite close to them. But Kakashi named them to be a Hunter-nin, a Shinobi who specialized in hunting down and killing rogue Shinobi. Yet this Shinobi did not appear aggressive to Zabuza, who himself was a Missing-nin from Kirigakure, in fact the Hunter-nin almost seemed submissive and had appeared when Zabuza called._

" _Yes Master Zabuza." The now named Haku replied in a bland and emotionless voice._

" _Were you the one to interfere?" Zabuza asked as he kept a wary eye on Kakashi._

" _No, I do not know where those shuriken came from." Haku replied calmly._

" _You're not a real Hunter-nin are you?" Kakashi stated rhetorically as he assessed the newcomer._

" _Oh, how truly astute of you Kakashi Hatake." A mocking female voice called out from the surrounding misty forest._

 _Hefting his large six foot sword Zabuza glared around him, looking for where the voice was coming from using his own limited sensory abilities to help, with Kakashi doing exactly the same thing._

 _Mito did the same, though with her abilities she soon locked onto the three power chakra signatures she had felt before. All three were here, all of them so close it was almost suffocating._

" _Kakashi-sensei, they are…" Mito began, only to stop as a shuriken slammed into the ground at her feet._

" _Kakashi Hatake, we will give you this one warning. Leave the area now and take your genin team with you. Do that and we won't have a problem?!" A different voice spoke out; this one was soft spoke and male._

" _And how can I trust you if you won't even show your face!?" Kakashi called out as he continued trying to lock onto the voice, however due to Zabuza's Hidden Mist jutsu still being in effect he was finding that very difficult, even with the Sharingan._

" _You are telling Kakashi to go, which mean you are most likely here for me!" Zabuza suddenly called out. "Kakashi has a high bounty than me which means you are not bounty hunters and the only reason someone would have to come after me if not for the bounty would be because of my old affiliation with Kirigakure. You are Hunter-nins are you not?"_

" _Oh he is a clever one isn't he?" The female voice spoke out again._

" _True, but when has being clever ever saved someone's life?" A different male voice asked with this one filled with humour as if he found this entire situation hilarious._

" _I will repeat what I said early, leave this place Kakashi, or what happens next will be on your head." The soft yet confident male voice spoke up again._

" _And as I said, I will not trust your word until you reveal yourselves." Kakashi replied stubbornly, knowing as he did so that if he and his team were to retreat than it was possible these unknown Shinobi would attack them from behind. For all he knew they could be some of Zabuza's other accomplices._

" _Then we have a stalemate." The same voice as before replied blandly._

 **( - )**

 **(Now with Naruto)**

Naruto had a scowl on his face as he looked down into the clearing from where he was crouched on a tree branch, with Clementine and Victor being crouched on the other larger branches that were dotted around the outskirts of the clearing. Things had not been going the way Naruto had hoped, they had quickly managed to catch up to Kakashi and his team, having run over the stretch of water between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wave.

They hadn't even needed to wait to use Kakashi and the bridge builder Tazuna as bait. As by the time they caught up with them, Kakashi and Zabuza were already locked in combat. With Zabuza's apprentice hovering around waiting to leap in and Kakashi's team all huddled around the bridge builder in a defensive formation.

It had been at this point that things had started going wrong; Naruto had told Kakashi to leave, giving him a way out of here with his bridge builder and team. This would leave just Zabuza and Haku alone in the clearing, with any chance of escape being cut off by Naruto and his team.

But it was not to be, Kakashi had decided on being stubborn, which had led to a stalemate as Kakashi demanded they reveal themselves before he would trust them and Naruto telling him to leave or there would be consequences.

"Mito, Sakura, Sasuke take Tazuna back a bit, I need him out of the way." Kakashi said as he gestured for his team to slowly back away. Clearly the man had recognised that they were in a standoff, and was hoping to get his team and client out of the way before anything happened.

Tazuna nodded nervously at that, even as the surrounding genin's began to slowly back away. Or at least Sakura and a number of Mito's clones did, with the original and Sasuke saying behind.

"We'll back you up Sensei." Mito said her voice holding an edge of stubbornness.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this, this was the first time he had seen his sister in three years. She had changed, she was older now, more mature, gone was the remnants of baby fat that had still clung onto her. Now she was quite lithe, she still had the same colouring's as their mother, with long waist length red hair tied back in a ponytail and sharp violet eyes. Naruto felt a slight weight in his heart as he looked at the resolve in her eyes. He hadn't realised how much he had missed his overbearing sisters.

"No the mission is to protect the bridge builder and that is what you must do." Kakashi replied harshly as he kept an eye out. His vision becoming clearer as Zabuza stopped using his Hidden Mist jutsu. It seemed the Master of the Silent Kill was not that comfortable with the mist when he was the prey.

"You should go with them Kakashi. There is no need for you and your team to get mixed up in this." Naruto tried one last time, knowing that the stalemate was coming to an end. Without the mist covering them Naruto knew the highly trained eyes of Kakashi and Zabuza would find them.

"Not until I know you won't attack us from behind." Kakashi responded his Sharingan eye spinning as the mist became thinner and thinner. The man was being over cautious now, undecided over whether or not Naruto and his team were enemies.

"They might not attack you in the back Kakashi, but know that I will the moment you and your little team turn to leave." Zabuza said as he swung his sword slightly.

Naruto frowned at that, Zabuza was trying to stop Kakashi from leaving as he knew he would stand more of a chance in a three sided fight than he would if he were to go one on one with a trained Kirigakure Hunter-nin team.

The very slight creaking of wood was all the warning Naruto got as Clementine it seemed got tired of waiting. In a blur the masked girl hit the floor before rushing Zabuza from behind her twin blades in hand.

Letting out a sigh Naruto unsealed his axe before making eye contact with the now visible Victor on the other side of the clearing. As one they leapt into the mist free clearing, both of them aiming to engage with Zabuza.

Seeing this Kakashi instinctively moved forward, Mito and Sasuke following behind, despite having been told to get back.

Zabuza swung his sword around as he felt someone attacking him from behind, whilst Haku leapt away from Zabuza looking to intercept Victor.

With the clash of blades Clementine and Zabuza engaged in combat. The both of them fighting in blurs as Clementine's superior speed, strength and reflexes battled against Zabuza's superior skill and experience.

The two of them were soon in a stalemate, as Zabuza used his wide blade to fend of Clementine's stilettos. Whilst Clementine found herself having to constantly dodge and weave around his heavy counterattacks. Letting out a snarl, Clementine used her armoured greaves on her right leg to knock Zabuza's blade away from him, before she slammed her blade into his chest.

Zabuza's body dissolved into water as she made contact. With Clementine having to dodge wide eyed as Zabuza's blade the Kubikiribocho slammed into where she had just been standing.

 **( - )**

 **(With Victor)**

Victor grunted slightly as he once again had to move from his position. His opponent the fake Hunter-nin, Haku, was an annoying one. She seemed to have an endless supply of senbon, thin metal needles, to throw at him, and the worst thing was she was very accurate. Already he had half a dozen of the metal needles dug into his body. Luckily though, he had been able to dodge them well enough so that they had not hit anything important or vital, still though, they were very annoying all the same.

Lashing his hands out Victor pumped chakra into the wire shooting contraptions he had on both of his wrist. Using his chakra to both release and guide the thin wires as he swung his hand around. The chakra infused wires acting like a whip, as they sliced through anything they touched, ripping apart the nearby trees and the ground at his feet. Unfortunately though, they had not hit the brat, who thanks to her incredible speed was able to maneuver around all of Victor's attacks so far.

Victor scowled at this, his maniacal smile dropping as he thought about how much easier this would have been if he had had time to cover the area in his traps. Flicking his wrist Victor retracted his wires, pulling them back into his intricate gauntlets.

The fake Hunter-nin stopped as she saw that, making sure to keep her distance but still obviously curious about what Victor was up to.

"Have you decided to give up?" Haku asked calmly as she eyed Victor.

"Give up?" Victor replied a sinister grin on his face, now why would I do a thing like that. As he said those words both of his hands soon became enshrouded in blue chakra. Lunging forward far faster than before, Victor almost took Haku by surprise. As he stopped fighting her using a mid-range fighting style and instead began attempting to engage her in hand to hand combat.

But once again Haku's speed prevailed, as to did her knowledge of the Shinobi arts as she instantly realised how dangerous fighting her opponent up close would be.

"Chakra Scalpels." Haku said as she looked at Victor's glowing hands a look of concern on her face.

Chakra Scalpels were a skill Medic-nins learnt, although it had more uses than just in medicine as it was also often used in combat by Medic-nins to deadly effect. They were meant to be used for making highly accurate incisions in surgeries, but they had an unusual quirk, Chakra Scalpels can make cuts inside the body without harming the skin. Suffice to say, when used correctly this technique could be highly deadly.

"So tell me little one, do you give up?" Victor replied sinisterly as he crouched low to the ground, consciously aware of what his other teammates were doing as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Glancing over Naruto took note of how Clementine had engaged Zabuza and Victor had taken on Haku. Things were not too bad at the moment, Clementine was a match for Zabuza, Naruto was confident enough in that and Victor could also take out Zabuza's apprentice. But even so he was wanting to help them out, first by joining Victor in killing Zabuza's apprentice, before joining Clementine in totally overwhelming Zabuza.

But first he had to get rid of Kakashi and his team. Which was why, instead of attack the two enemy Shinobi, he instead appeared in front of Kakashi.

"Take your bridge builder and walk away now." Naruto said calmly, his eyes flickering to Mito before going back to Kakashi.

"I recognise you." Was Kakashi's response, this made Naruto's eyes widen even as his grip on his axe tightened.

"You are 'Grimm' aren't you?" Kakashi replied his own eyes narrowing as he raised his kunai. "Which would make your companions 'the Monster' and 'the Cannibal'? All three of which are Hunter-nin and A-rank Shinobi. It is also listed in the Bingo Books that you are presumed to be from Kirigakure, though that has never been substantiated."

Naruto calmed down as he heard that, those were the names that had been given to Naruto and his team in the Bingo Books. This meant that Kakashi didn't know who he truly was, Bingo Books were an annoying tool, a book was created by each Shinobi Village listing enemy Shinobi who had bounties from their Village. The information in them though was based on that Village own spy network, something that each Village guarded jealousy.

"Well if we were from Kiri then since Zabuza is a Missing-nin formerly of Kirigakure. Killing him would be our business so you will move on." Naruto replied in a harsh tone as he noticed the glare the young Uchiha gave him and the wide eyed look his sister gave him. "And if we weren't he is still a Missing-nin and we would be totally within our rights to take the bounty on his head."

"Yet you are also wanted in Konoha's Bingo Book, with a price of twenty thousand on your head." Kakashi replied showing no signs of hostility.

"Why are they called that Sensei?" Mito questioned from where she was stood.

"The reason is simple, each of them is considered a monster for the ghoulish way they handle their victims. 'The Cannibal' as you might have guessed eats those she kills, whilst 'the Monster' harvests their organs and body parts. 'The Grimm' though, the Grimm just rots his victims from the inside out. All of them are supposedly Outcasts from the Rogue Clans which is why it is assumed they are from Kiri, as a few years back a lot of Rogue Clans joined the Village." Kakashi replied in answer to his students as he kept a wary eye on the masked man in front of him.

Mito paled at that as she looked at Naruto in horror. A look that caused Naruto's chest to begin hurting, Sasuke though, his eyes seemed to gleam with sudden excitement.

"So if they are in our Bingo Book, that must mean they are enemies." Sasuke said quietly as he kept his eyes fixed on Naruto.

"Sasuke back down now." Kakashi warned sternly even as he shifted his stance slightly readying himself as he did so.

He had underestimated his young student though as with a shout Sasuke charged the black masked Hunter-nin, the black haired Uchiha seemingly oblivious to Kakashi's shout for him to stop. Instead his mind was fully consumed by his need to get stronger; no doubt his justification for attacking Naruto was to test his strength.

The fault was partially Naruto's as he had been suppressing his chakra and had not been using his Killer Intent. Him having decided such things would make convincing Kakashi to back off harder. But it seems to have had the opposite effect as Sasuke had seen his lack of presences as a weakness, and had thus decided to attack.

Raising his axe and channeling his chakra to his muscles, Naruto prepared to knock the Uchiha down. He would not allow some child to get away with attacking him, even if that child was the younger brother of his, sort of friend, Itachi.

Naruto did not get a chance to slap the Uchiha down though as he soon found himself face to face with Kakashi. The man's single Sharingan spinning as he used a lightning enshrouded kunai to block Naruto's axe.

Letting out a hiss of irritation Naruto brought his foot up to deliver a kick to Kakashi's gut, even as his other hand went to grip Kakashi's free hand.

Breaking away Kakashi grabbed the Uchiha by the back of his collar before he threw him behind him as he landed on his feet. His hands already up again by that point and moving to create a number of seals. **"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Jutsu!"**

A dragon made entirely out of Kakashi's lightning exploded from the air in front of the grey haired man. The elemental dragon then proceeded to shoot through the air towards Naruto.

Twin chakra chains exploded out of Naruto's back as he saw what was coming, the chains moving to create a cross in front of him to protect him from Kakashi's jutsu.

The sight of the chains caused Kakashi's eyes to widen, as well as Mito. Both of them shocked as they saw this mysterious person use Uzumaki Chakra Chains, though whether they were truly that was debatable considering that the chains were forged out of bluish grey chakra instead of golden coloured chakra.

Even so the sight of them were enough to shock the two, a shock that was increased when Naruto used the chains to bulldoze through Kakashi's jutsu, his axe already raised as he blurred towards Kakashi.

"Mito, Sasuke get out of here, get to Tazuna and find yourselves a safe and defensible location." Kakashi's grunted out as he substituted himself with a nearby log, the log shattering into pieces as Naruto's axe struck it.

"But Sensei!" Mito called out conflicted.

Kakashi didn't have time to reply as Naruto was once again on him, sparks flying as they fought Naruto's axe and Kakashi's kunai deflecting each other. Even as Naruto produced four more chakra chains from behind him, before he used them all to attack Kakashi's, becoming a maelstrom of destruction as the ground and trees around them were ripped up and turned to dust by Naruto's chakra chains. Kakashi being forced entirely on the defensive as he had to rely on his Sharingan and experience to avoid Naruto's brutal onslaught.

"You should have left whilst I gave you the chance." Naruto shouted more than a little pissed off at how things had gone down.

"You tried to harm one of my precious students." Kakashi replied stoically even as he noticed the pitted and rusted blade of his once immaculate kunai, his eyes widening as he once again took note of the unusual colour of Naruto's chakra.

"You still have chance Kakashi. Leave now and I will not pursue, stay and I will have no choice but to kill you!" Naruto spoke up once more.

"I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself boy." Kakashi replied calmly, before he threw his rusted kunai at Naruto and then clasped the wrist of his right hand with his left. As he did this lightning erupted around his right hand and the sound of chirping birds could be heard ringing around the clearing.

"The Chidori I presume." Naruto replied with a scowl as he finally had enough, if Kakashi wanted to be stubborn and die then that was his own fault. Naruto had no particular care or interest in the man, whether he lived or died was meaningless. The only reason he had not gone all out to kill him yet had been because he knew the death of Kakashi would upset his sister, and even then that had been a pretty petty reason.

" **Chidori!"** Kakashi shouted as he shot towards Naruto his right hand raised to strike him, his Sharingan blazing as he used it to keep track of Naruto's every move.

"Idiot." Naruto said before he retracted his chains, instead he decided to form two, foot and a half long, curved claws made of his deathly chakra, from the back of his hands. Once they were formed Naruto drew more heavily on the souls he kept trapped on his body, using the multiple souls as nothing more than batteries for him to use to increase his already soul enhanced power.

In a blur Naruto shot towards Kakashi his body blazing with his grayish chakra, even as the remaining grass and trees around him died.

With a loud shout the both of them clashed.

 **( - )**

 **(With Clementine)**

"You know you really have earned you reputation Cannibal." Zabuza sneered at Clementine as he substituted with a water clone, allowing Clementine to rip it apart with her knives while he struck at her from behind with his blade. "When I was your age, my hands were already dyed red with blood." Zabuza continued even as his eyes widened as glowing and flaring wings of chakra burst from the base of the girl's spine. Blocking his blade and forcing him to back off.

At first glance the wings of reddish purple chakra looked similar to her companion Pain's chakra chains, but on closer inspection you could see they were different, even if only slightly. Both techniques were due to a bloodline, and both of them worked a similar way, i.e. they involved the manipulation of chakra into a physical form. But that was where the similarities stopped, Clementine's kagune as she called them, were less malleable and were less destructive than Pain's chakra chains. But unlike Pain's chakra chains she could use hers at long range.

Lashing out with her kagune she forced Zabuza back, as from her kagune sprayed a shower of sharp blades of chakra. Zabuza had to use the large blade of his weapon to block most of them, and even then a few got through his defense slashing his body as they struck him.

"But then again, I was a real Shinobi. Not a freak like you." Zabuza snarled back, as he swung his blade around trying to fend the blonde off with his blade. Only to receive a nasty gash to his thigh as she ran her blade along his leg, gouging out a chunk of his flesh as she did so. "Ahh shit, you bitch!" Zabuza snarled before he tried to create some distance from the rapid and deadly huntress.

"Oh I have heard of you Zabuza." Clementine replied harshly. "And you are more of a freak than any member of the former Outcasts."

"Ah so you have heard of me. Yes, back when Kirigakure was known as the Bloody Mist village. Our graduation exam." Zabuza started to chuckle almost dementedly as he clasped his free left hand to his heavily bleeding leg, using his water manipulation to force the wound to clot. "Fighting to the death between the students with only the winner becoming a genin. It was glorious! So much blood!" Zabuza raised his voice in excitement.

"Yes and what a freak you were, you murdered a whole class of you comrades… and for what?" Clementine sneered, not at all impressed by the Demon of the Mist.

"Why! Well because it was fun of course!" Zabuza said as he sneered back at Clementine. "Now what I want to know is what the fuck the Mizukage was thinking when she allowed you freaks into the Village!"

Upon saying that Zabuza disappeared in a spray of mist only to suddenly appear in front of Clementine, viciously lashing out with his sword. The blonde raise ducked under the sword before she threw the stiletto in her right hand at Zabuza, the blade striking him in the left shoulder and lodging there. Undeterred by this Zabuza lashed out in retaliation at the Hunter-nin, striking her with a nasty backhanded punch to the stomach knocking the air out of Clementine's lungs and sending her crashing to the ground.

Gritting her teeth Clementine immediately rolled into a crouched position before she shot forward, moving at easily elite Jonin speed as she made full use of her bloodline abilities. The wings of Chakra on her back flaring once more as they unleashed another shower of chakra blades on Zabuza.

Zabuza substituted with a log to escape, but unfortunately had underestimated Clementine's heightened reflexes and senses. This led to him crying out in pain as half dozen blades of chakra were lodged in his back.

Zabuza by this point was an absolute mess; his body was covered in his own blood and he was cover in multiple gashes and cuts from Clementine's blades, the girl's unnatural speed and reflexes having overcome his years of practice and experience. As well as that, he also had a chunk of his thigh missing, the wound having been partially clotted. Protruding from his now shattered shoulder was also one of Clementine's stiletto blades, so deeply lodged in, that it would require a set of pliers to pull it out. Then finally, to finish off his set of battle wounds, there were six blades of reddish purple chakra protruding from his back, courtesy of Clementine's accursed bloodline.

Sagging over Zabuza crashed to his knees, the wounds and his blood loss finally getting the better of him. His bloodshot eyes suddenly widened as he felt something crash painfully into his other shoulder, looking down at his shoulder he saw a sharp, silver, metal point sticking out of his bloody shoulder. It did not take a genius to figure out that it was the girl's other stiletto blade.

With a dull thud Zabuza's prized sword, the Kubikiribocho fell to the ground landing in the wet, blood soaked mud Zabuza's hands no longer having the strength to grip his most prized possession.

"Looks like you have killed me." Zabuza said his eyes disbelieving.

"Yes." Clementine replied in confirmation, even as she took hold of Zabuza's blade. Easily lifting it with her bloodline enhanced strength.

"If you are going to kill me, could you at least let me hold the Kubikiribocho as you finish me off?" Zabuza asked, his voice almost pleading as he saw his soon to be killer holding his precious sword. A blade he had spent most of his life carrying.

Turning to look down at Zabuza, Clementine's pink eyes flashed with hidden menace. Instead of answering she instead merely lifted the blade above her head before bringing it down with a sickening crunch. The blade striking the juncture between Zabuza's neck and shoulder, and tearing through his flesh as it almost cut his upper body in half.

The last thing Zabuza ever did was look up at Clementine in shock and fear as she ended his life with his own blade.

"That was for the freak comment… ass hole!" Clementine said to Zabuza's dead body as she raised the sword again before she brought it down again decapitating the dead man with a single blow. "Now I just have to get rid of the body…" Clementine continued a devious smirk on her face.

 **( - )**

 **(With Victor)**

Staring straight ahead of him, Victor narrowed his eyes as he stared into a mirror of ice, one of the dozen or so ice mirrors that surrounded him, each of which holding a reflection of the fake Hunter-nin. He had found that despite his change in strategy from mid-range to close combat that he was still not fast enough to keep up with the speed Haku showcased, especially now she pulled the Hyoton bloodline out of her arse. As her already overwhelming speed was on a whole new level now that she was able to transfer between the multiple ice mirrors that she had created.

Her ice mirrors were more than just a speed boost for her though. They also were acting as a prison, trapping Victor within a dome of almost indestructible mirrors. Already he had tried using both his chakra scalpels and his chakra infused wires to break through the mirrors so he could escape the dome of mirrors. Any damage he had been able to do to the mirror though was quickly repaired though, the girl having used the moisture in the air to repair them.

It was at time like this that Victor cursed the fact that his bloodline limit was not as offensive as either Pain's or Clementine's.

Swinging his right arm around Victor one again used the wires trailing from his gauntlet like a whip. The chakra enhanced wire making inch deep gouges on the surrounding mirrors. However once again the gouges soon disappeared as Haku used the moisture in the air in conjunction wither Hyoton bloodline.

In retaliation to Victor's attempted escape Haku went on to pepper him with senbon from multiple directions. Most of these Victor dodged using his own low Jonin level speed and reflexes to avoid the senbon. However due to the fact that they were rapidly coming from all directions several of them got lodged in his arms and legs. Not that they did much damage as Victor used his medical ninjutsu to repair any damage he received.

This turn of events had led to their dual becoming more of a battle of attrition as Victor continued to damage the mirrors, forcing Haku to expend chakra not only to maintain them but also repair them. Victor though was also being forced to expend his chakra in both repairing the damage done to his body and using techniques to damage the mirrors.

Lashing out again a slightly maniacal grin on his face Victor attempted once more to break out of the dome of mirrors. Haku though quickly intercepted him by transporting to the mirror closest to him and landed a quick strike in his gut with a foot long blade of ice, to try and either drive him away or injure him. This was a poorly thought out response on her part though as Victor used her attack to his advantage, a swift strike to her thigh with a chakra scalpel soon saw an end to her speed advantage. Victor however did not come away unscathed however as he received a blade of ice through his chest, clipping his left lung, causing significant damage as it did so.

"Dammit!" Victor cursed as he leapt away from the ice mirror, his hand glowing green as he attempted to patch up the damage. Deep down though he knew that this set of lungs was fucked, he would have to replace them quite soon, luckily though he had managed to harvest quite a few organs from Raiga's men.

"There is no escape Hunter-nin. I am afraid I have no choice but to kill you, you are a threat to Master Zabuza and so you will be removed." Haku said, her pained voice seeming to come from multiple directions.

"Escape, I think you are the one who can't escape. I have cut the muscles in your thigh, I doubt very much that you will be able to beat me now." Victor replied, spitting out a blob of blood as he did so.

"And I have damaged your lungs. If you don't heal it immediately you will begin to drown in your own blood." Haku replied tonelessly. "And I very much doubt you will be able to heal a wound like that whilst in a fight."

To emphasis this statement Haku launched more senbon at him, the needles more infrequent now and coming mainly from one direction. Not that that mattered much as they still worked in forcing Victor to move, disrupting his attempt to patch up his damaged lung.

"You're an arrogant little bitch aren't you?" Victor grumbled to himself as he once again rolled out of the way of Haku's attack.

" **Hyoton: One Thousand Needles of Death!"**

In response to his words dozens of frozen senbon were launched at him from all sides. Forcing Victor to dodge and weave between them even as he used his gauntlets to block some of them.

"I really need to learn more offensive jutsu." Victor muttered tiredly to himself as the bombardment of ice senbon ended. Victor's style of fighting mostly relied on traps and taking his enemy off guard, he was at his most deadly when he had time to change the environment to suit him. That being said his work as a Hunter-nin made such chances low, this had forced him to learn more offensive abilities. But even so he knew he was lacking powerful ninjutsu, something he knew would come in useful for situations just like this.

"Hyah!" Victor shouted as he leapt forward sliding on the wet floor as he did so, raising his arm he slammed his fist into one of the mirrors, the mirror cracking behind the force of his blow. Jumping up he used the surface of the cracked mirror as a platform, allowing him to jump off it and away, even as he saw more senbon shattering on the mirror he just used.

Landing on his feet Victor kept moving, avoiding the occasional flurry of senbon as he tried to think up a new plan. Conscious as he did so of how the constant movement was just damaging his lung even more.

"Could really use a bit of help right now?!" Victor shouted out as he once again forced his body to move, allowing him to avoid yet more senbon. "Like seriously girl just how many fucking senbon do you have?!"

"Ha! Can't believe you haven't finished off the apprentice yet!?" Came the mocking voice of Clementine, clearly audible from outside of the dome of ice mirrors. "I mean I just finished off her Master and you are struggling with his little servant girl!"

"Master Zabuza!" Haku suddenly said in shock.

Looking through the gaps in the dome of mirrors Victor could see the bloody form of Clementine approaching him, her skin and armour stained in blood, even as she sent him a bloody grin. Victor very much doubted the blood was Clementine's. This was reinforced by the fact that she was holding Zabuza's sword in her right hand, the blood stained blade resting comfortably on her shoulder.

Victor obviously was not the only one to see this as the ice mirrors around him shattered as his opponent exploded out of them, her own injuries forgotten as she rushed Clementine.

"Clementine don't kill her!" Victor called out from where he stood.

"Whatever!" Clementine replied as she weathered Haku's bombardment of senbon, her naturally durable stopping the needles from even penetrating her skin. Taking a step forward Clementine swung Zabuza's blade using the flat of the blade to strike Haku in the head. Her strike easily hit the girl due to the fact that the muscles in her thigh were severed restricting her movement, and her mind was clouded by her anger over Zabuza's death.

With a crash Haku hit the ground unconscious, her fake Hunter-nin mask shattered, and a small pool of blood beginning to form around her head.

"And that Victor is how you defeat an enemy." Clementine said smugly as she casually leant on Zabuza;s sword a vicious grin on her face.

"That is an assist at best." Victor replied grumpily as he approached her, a glowing green hand on his wounded chest as he patched up his lung. "I did all the hard work you just delivered the finishing blow."

"Well not exactly finishing." Clementine commented as she used her foot to turn Haku's body over so she could look at her now unmasked face. "Speaking of which why did you ask me not to kill her?"

"She has the Hyoton bloodline." Victor replied as he pushed Clementine away from the girl and knelt down besides her, his hand on her head as he checked over her injuries, making sure they weren't fatal.

"Oh, ok." Clementine replied. "So we are taking her back to Kiri?"

"She is most likely the last Hyoton user in existence. The last of her Clan, killing her would be crime of the highest order." Victor replied seriously. "We are going to take her back to the Village with us and let Lady Terumi decide her fate."

"Knowing her she will most likely get the girl to join Kiri and make her own Clan." Clementine grumbled.

"I would hope so; however whether or not that happens depends on the girl. I very much doubt she will take the death of her Master well." Victor replied as he looked down at the girl, a frown on his face.

"She'll get over it." Clementine replied callously as she threw the unconscious girl over her shoulder and began to walk away. "Now come on, we need to catch up with Pain."

"I'm coming." Victor grunted as he followed his teammate, the two of them swiftly leaving the clearing as they followed the trail of destruction that Pain had left.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Spitting out a wad of blood, Naruto glared at the battered and bruised Kakashi opposite him. Their fight by this point had left the clearing and was now near the Village of Wave itself. Their struggle having left a swathe of blackened and cratered ground and rotten trees and plants. Both Naruto and Kakashi were covered in wounds, with Kakashi's being more serious as due to the nature of Naruto's chakra his wounds had already festered. Naruto had been absolutely merciless with his chakra claws, tearing through anything Kakashi through his way and never allowing the grey haired Jonin to escape him, falling back on using his senses to track the man's soul when he had to.

By this point their fight had simply become about the principle, neither really cared about what started it. Or about how if they both stopped then they could both walk away whole and healthy. That both didn't occur to them and wouldn't have been accepted if it had.

For Naruto, Kakashi had challenged him. In a way no one else ever had, well no one living at least. Naruto was a hunter by nature; his entire existence relied on him hunting down others to consume their souls. Just like how Victor needed to hunt down spare body parts and Clementine fresh meat. Hunting was in their nature and Kakashi had proven himself to be a more than worthy prey.

"You live up to your reputation Kakashi Hatake." Naruto said as he spat out another mouthful of blood.

"And your reputation doesn't quite live up to you." Kakashi replied as he looked tiredly over at his opponent, his body aching from the numerous wounds he had received and his chakra reserves all but depleted from his overuse of his Sharingan eye. "I can only assume your full abilities weren't listed in the Bingo Book because no one has ever survived when you went all out on them."

"Something like that…" Naruto replied, before he dashed forward again, leaving blackened footprints behind him as he pumped his body full of chakra, drawing on more and more on the souls he contained as he did so.

In an explosion of wood Naruto destroyed the log Kakashi substituted himself with.

Turning swiftly on his heel a multitude of barbed chains exploded from Naruto's hand, tearing into the woodland around him as he homed in on Kakashi. Naruto's eyes flashing crimson as he kept track of Kakashi's soul.

Leaping from branch to branch Kakashi fled Naruto's onslaught, having realized that in the condition he was in he would not be able to face it head on. Creating a shadow clone, the real Kakashi shunshinned away, hoping to get behind Naruto whilst the masked Hunter-nin focused on his clone.

It was not to be however, as when Kakashi reappeared in a swirl of leaves, it was to find Naruto no longer where he had been.

" **Soul Release: Shadow Clone Jutsu."** Naruto muttered to himself as he looked down on the injured Kakashi from where he was hidden in a nearby tree. Creating a hand seal Naruto's body began to glow a bluish grey colour, even as a number of ethereal shapes tore themselves free of him

Soundlessly the shapes took on a distinctly human form. Soon enough Naruto was flanked by a half dozen ghost like Shinobi, their features smoky and their body's partial translucent.

"Finish him." Naruto muttered tonelessly as the six figures went to attack Kakashi.

This was a jutsu of Naruto own creation, heavily based on the Shadow Clone jutsu, It involved Naruto creating a partial shadow clone, but instead of making a clone of himself he instead forced one of the souls he had devoured into the chakra formed body. The souls were completely under Naruto's control, but yet retained enough of their former personality and skills to still operate autonomously if necessary. This for Naruto had been necessary after he realised he could not use the proper Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Naruto's own unique chakra was too volatile for a shadow clone body to use, which led to them, being destroyed within a few moments of being created. But by forcing one of the souls he had eaten into the body he found a way around this weakness, as the clones would primarily function off of the soul's chakra, with him being able to control them due to the connection between the souls and himself.

Kakashi soon found himself struggling, as he found himself having to dodge the coordinated assault of six ethereal Shinobi. Forming a hand seal Kakashi created a dragon made of lightning which he then proceeded to use to destroy three of his six attackers.

Pulling out a new kunai he channeled lightning chakra into it before he used it to cut down another one. This one though upon being destroyed exploded into grey smoke which began to rot anything it touched. Forcing himself backward Kakashi clasped his left hand with his right one, the skin having already been stripped away even as the muscle beneath desiccated. Letting out a shout of pain Kakashi had to force himself to dodge the other two, both of whom began to go through a number of hand seals. Soon he found himself having to dodge a powerful water bullet jutsu and a mildly powerful fireball jutsu.

Dancing backward Kakashi began to weave in between the attacks, the two remaining ghost like clones sent his way. Keeping a wary eye out as he did so for the clones puppet master. It appeared Grimm as he was known in the Bingo Book was a lot more dangerous than he thought. Throwing the now partially corroded kunai, Kakashi managed to destroy the fifth clone, even as he had to move again to avoid the remaining one.

Turning around Kakashi was met with a face full of corrosive grey smoke as the clone was dispersed. He didn't have time to react to this though as from out of the smoke emerged Naruto. The smoke causing him no discomfort at all as he engaged Kakashi once more in combat. His silver axe a blur as the grey haired man struggled to keep up with Naruto.

Gritting his teeth Naruto went in for the kill, or at least he would have done if the presence of three more Shinobi hadn't distracted him.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Jumping back Naruto had to dodge as a blade of wind struck the ground he was just stood on. Looking up Naruto soon had to create one of his chakra chains to block a large ball of fire.

"What are you doing here? Get away!" Kakashi grunted as he collapsed onto one knee.

"We won't leave you Kakashi-sensei!" Mito shouted as she made some hand seals before sending another blade of wind in Naruto's direction.

Lashing out with his chakra chain Naruto blocked the blade of wind.

"We?" Kakashi questioned as he pushed himself up to his feet.

In answer to his question Sasuke and Sakura revealed themselves, the Uchiha going through a set of hand seals before breathing out another ball of fire and the pink haired girl throwing kunai.

"Little shits!" Naruto grunted as he weathered their attacks before counter attacking. Rushing forward Naruto delivered a kick into the pink haired girls gut, sending her crashing into a nearby tree unconscious, a small trail of blood leaking from her mouth

"Sakura!" Mito shouted as she saw her teammate crash into a tree.

"Hn!" Sasuke grunted as he sent another fireball at Naruto, only to let out a gasp as a chakra chain cut through his technique and slammed into him, taking him completely by surprise as it sent him crashing through the nearby trees his body limp and his mind barely conscious as it landed on the floor.

"Back off!" Naruto shouted in warning as he glared down at the genin, his eyes locking with Mito's.

"Make us!" Mito growled even as a shroud of red chakra began to form around her, her teeth sharpening even as her appearance became more feral.

A weight seemed to settle in the air as a single red tail formed behind Mito, a tail made out of pure chakra.

"The Kyuubi." Naruto muttered with a frown. 'You, I need more power.'

" **Hold on."** You replied in Naruto's mind, even as he began to draw on the hundreds of souls trapped within Naruto, drawing chakra from every soul before transferring it to Naruto.

The air around Naruto began to shimmer as he did this, even as his eyes began to glow white as Naruto began to draw on the power of the hundreds of souls he had devoured, each one adding its own chakra to his. Soon enough his own chakra began to match the amount of power Mito's one tailed form was releasing.

Letting out a feral snarl Mito exploded forward, her body blurring as she gave in to her almost overwhelming anger. The negative emotions the Kyuubi embodied affecting her already angry mind, causing her to almost lose control. As she was doing this she also began to let loose her unrestrained Killing Intent, which was a force in itself as it forced the Uchiha to completely lose consciousness and caused a bead of sweat to trickle down the injured Kakashi's face.

" **I will give you one more warning, back down!"** Naruto said his voice echoing as he spoke, as if it was not just he who spoke but hundreds of other people all at the same time.

Mito completely ignored this as she rushed Naruto, all thought of techniques and skill forgotten as she just used pure power and aggression to fight, completely giving into her instincts to maul that which angered her.

The two collided in an explosion as they began to trade blows; Naruto's strikes were more coordinated, even as Mito's attacks were stronger and more vicious. With a crashing sound Mito landed a brutal blow to Naruto's chest sending him crashing backwards a dozen metres and through several trees. Leaping to his feet Naruto vanished in a blur only to appear above Mito his foot raised to deliver an axekick to the girl's head.

Twisting in midair Mito managed to dodge Naruto's kick. However she was unprepared for the half dozen chains that burst from Naruto's body. The chains wrapping around Mito's arms, legs and body as Naruto bound her before using them to smash her into the ground, creating a small crater beneath the girl.

Raising her in the air again Naruto once more smashed her into the ground, a wide grin on his face even as his eyes glowed with condensed power. He could feel it; he could feel his chakra slowly eating through the Kyuubi's own corrosive chakra. It was slow going though and tiring to, as the Kyuubi's chakra was incredibly dense and not at all human.

Mito struggled as she was bound her face contorting in rage as she quickly gave in to her rage at being trapped. As she did this a second tail began to form behind her and her struggles got stronger, slowly beginning to overpower Naruto's hold on her

Seeing the second tail beginning to form Naruto gave up on the idea of binding his sister until she calmed down and stopped drawing on the Kyuubi's power. Instead he decided to just knock her unconscious, that way she could no longer draw on it at all. That being said though, knocking a Kyuubi enhanced Uzumaki unconscious would not be easy.

Slamming her into the ground again with his chains, Naruto leapt into the air before he came down on his sister with both feet extended.

With a loud crash Mito found her head smashed into the ground, Letting out a growl Mito attempted to get to her feet, she was unable to though as Naruto continued to keep her bound. Dropping his axe as he released yet more chains from his arms, trying to keep Mito down, a task that was becoming harder as her power slowly increased along with her aggression.

"For fucks sake just stay down!" Naruto growled as he pulled her towards him before delivering a punch to her head, the blow causing a concussive wave that cratered the ground beneath them, and sent a shock wave that could the trees around them to rustle as if caught up in a sudden gust.

Winding his chains around her neck Naruto began to tighten them, attempting to suffocate Mito until she passed out. A bead of sweat railing down his own face as he felt the strain of keeping down his Kyuubified sister. He really needed to learn some Fuinjutsu.

Letting out a shout of rage Mito continued to struggle even as her vision began to go dark as she slowly lost consciousness, the Kyuubi's chakra cloak beginning to flicker as she stopped drawing on its power.

"Finally." Naruto muttered to himself as he saw Mito stop struggling, the red chakra cloak disappearing as she passed out.

Pulling his chakra back immediately Naruto cast a concerned eye over her as he made sure his chakra didn't hurt her. Looking down his glowing white eyes gleaming Naruto let out a sigh of satisfaction as he saw he hadn't harmed his sister, aside from you know suffocating her till she passed out. But then again that was for her own good, in the enraged state she was in, she could have done something she would later come to regret..

The satisfaction however soon came to an end as he felt a sudden pain in his chest. Looking down he saw a lightning enshrouded hand sticking out of his chest, right where his heart was.

"Ahh shit." Naruto muttered as he stopped drawing on the souls within his body. With a thud Naruto fell to his knees, vaguely aware as he did of Kakashi's cry of pain as his entire right arm was disintegrated by the intensity of Naruto's chakra. His entire arm withering away in seconds leaving only a decay stump just below his elbow as the intensity of Naruto's chakra destroyed it.

'Naruto unsteadily made his way back onto his feet. Aware as he did so of the gaping hole in his chest. Turning around he looked down at Kakashi, the grey haired man holding onto the rotten stump that had once been his arm with a look of agony on his face.

" **Well that was a pretty stupid move to let your guard down like that."** A less than impressed You said in Naruto's mind.

'Thanks for the warning.' Naruto thought irritably as he began to shakily made it to his feet before looking out at the now destroyed clearing.

" **Yeah, yeah, you know what you have to do I take it."** You replied with a sigh.

Reaching out his hand Naruto grabbed Kakashi by the throat before he easily lifted him off the ground, his eyes still glowing white with the compressed power of all the souls he contained running through him, the grey haired man feebly trying to break Naruto's grip with his already injured left hand.

"For what it's worth Kakashi I did not want to have to kill you." Naruto said tiredly before he began to drain Kakashi of his life.

Looking on with eyes wide with shock, Kakashi could only open his mouth and let loose a muted scream of pain. As his skin began to turn wrinkle and turn grey, his hair thinning and turning white. Within a matter of minutes Kakashi was dead, his body having desiccated to the point at which it just crumbled to dust in Naruto's.

Shaking off the dust that had once been Kakashi's body Naruto brought his hand to his chest, feeling the smooth skin beneath his hand that showed that his wound was fully healed, even if it was a little sore still.

"I really hate doing that." Naruto muttered to himself in disgust. Due to the nature of his chakra Naruto was unable to heal naturally, what he could do though was take the physical life force of another though and then use that to fix his wounds. It was not something he enjoyed though; as doing what he had just done often made him feel like a parasite, like a plague on the world.

"Well damn looks like you made a real mess." A female voice said alerting Naruto to its presence. "We could feel your little fight with the Kyuubi girl from half a mile away."

Turning around Naruto found himself facing Clementine and Victor.

"So you gone finish the job or just leave them?" Clementine asked as she nodded over to the three unconscious genin.

"We have done enough damage, let's go." Naruto replied as he began to walk away, his hand still clutching his chest in discomfort.

"Do you really want to leave three witnesses?" Clementine asked with a scowl.

Naruto grimaced at that before sending her a dark look. "We are not killing them that would just cause more trouble for us."

"Then what are we going to do then?" Victor asked cutting off any retort Clementine could make.

"Leave them, there was a bounty out on Kakashi and we are in neutral territory. Furthermore he and his team interrupted our mission. From a political point of view there are likely to be little to no repercussions. He died in the line of duty and that is it." Naruto replied with a shrug.

"Do you reckon the Hokage of the Leaf will see it that way." Victor asked an unsure expression on his face.

"Well we will just have to wait and see." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Now come on let's go. I take it Zabuza and his apprentice are dead."

"Zabuza is dead and his sword his reclaimed." Clementine said as she showed Naruto the sword. "As for his apprentice we are bringing her back to Kiri, Victor's idea."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at that before he shrugged. "I am sure you have a reason. Now let's go, I have an idea which could be very profitable."

With that said Naruto disappeared into the surrounding trees, soon followed by Clementine and Victor, leaving behind in their wake three unconscious genin.

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha One Day Later)**

"Lord Hokage the reinforcements you sent out at Kakashi's request have returned." A member of the ANBU wearing a lion mask said as he stood before the seated Minato Namikaze.

"What already?" Minato asked with a frown on his face. "Is Team 7 with them?"

The ANBU shifted slightly at that."Mito Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno have returned."

"What of Kakashi? Is he still out in Wave?" Minato asked with a frown.

"The location of Kakashi Hatake is unknown, though from statements from his team it is suspected he is dead."

"Dead?" Minato said a blank expression on his face as he heard of the potential fate of his former student. "Do we know who did it?"

"The genin do not know much, by from what we have been able to gather a skirmish occurred between the Missing-nin Zabuza Momochi, Team Seven and some Hunter-nin."

Minato brought his hand to his head at that, before he began to massage his temples. "I am going to need to know the full story behind what has happened."

 **( - )**

 **AN: Well bugger I'm not sure how many of you will have seen this coming. To justify Kakashi's actions he was a little over cautious but he did have a right to be after all he and his team were surrounded on all sides by potential enemies and one thing you don't do is turn your back on a potential enemy.**

 **That being said he put up a good fight, but the sheer unexpectedness of Naruto's abilities and their destructive capabilities were obviously a bit to much to handle.**

 **I hope people like how Naruto's powers are developing. They are not faultless as he can not heal naturally and certain techniques won't work for him due to the deathly nature of his chakra. Also I personally quite like his avatar mode, it is similar to the Avatar mode form the last air bender but also different. The differences will be explored more later on.**

 **Also I am sure many have guessed, but yes Clementine's bloodline is similar to that of a Ghouls form Tokyo Ghoul. However it will be made compliant with Naruto. But I just think an ability like that would be pretty awesome in the Shinobi world, even if it is a bit messed up.**

 **So yeah I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and review comment etc. Also to look forward to is Naruto's idea, Minato and Konoha's reaction, Mei's reaction and the shenanigans to follow.**

 **See you all later.**

 **Seagate.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: So here is the next chapter, I ended up splitting it into two as I was hoping to cover both Konoha and Kiri's actions and reactions. But found that the Kiri one is going to take me more time as I quite like the direction it is going but am not quite happy enough with it yet to publish it.**

 **So yeah I hope you all enjoy. There will be more to it but that will come later in the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I surprisingly do not own Naruto**

 **Chapter 12**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Turning around Naruto found himself facing Clementine and Victor._

" _So you gone finish the job or just leave them?" Clementine asked as she nodded over to the three unconscious genin._

" _We have done enough damage, let's go." Naruto replied as he began to walk away, his hand still clutching his chest in discomfort._

" _Do you really want to leave three witnesses?" Clementine asked with a scowl._

 _Naruto grimaced at that before sending her a dark look. "We are not killing them that would just cause more trouble for us."_

" _Then what are we going to do then?" Victor asked cutting off any retort Clementine could make._

" _Leave them, there was a bounty out on Kakashi and we are in neutral territory. Furthermore he and his team interrupted our mission. From a political point of view there are likely to be little to no repercussions. He died in the line of duty and that is it." Naruto replied with a shrug._

" _Do you reckon the Hokage of the Leaf will see it that way?" Victor asked an unsure expression on his face._

" _Well we will just have to wait and see." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Now come on let's go. I take it Zabuza and his apprentice are dead."_

" _Zabuza is dead and his sword his reclaimed." Clementine said as she showed Naruto the sword. "As for his apprentice we are bringing her back to Kiri, Victor's idea."_

 _Naruto raised his eyebrows at that before he shrugged. "I am sure you have a reason. Now let's go, I have an idea which could be very profitable."_

 _With that said Naruto disappeared into the surrounding trees, soon followed by Clementine and Victor, leaving behind in their wake three unconscious genin._

 _ **( - )**_

 _ **(In Konoha One Day Later)**_

" _Lord Hokage the reinforcements you sent out at Kakashi's request have returned." A member of the ANBU wearing a lion mask said as he stood before the seated Minato Namikaze._

" _What already?" Minato asked with a frown on his face. "Is Team 7 with them?"_

 _The ANBU shifted slightly at that."Mito Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno have returned."_

" _What of Kakashi? Is he still out in Wave?" Minato asked with a frown._

" _The location of Kakashi Hatake is unknown, though from statements from his team it is suspected he is dead."_

" _Dead?" Minato said a blank expression on his face as he heard of the potential fate of his former student. "Do we know who did it?"_

" _The genin do not know much, by from what we have been able to gather a skirmish occurred between the Missing-nin Zabuza Momochi, Team Seven and some Hunter-nin."_

 _Minato brought his hand to his head at that, before he began to massage his temples. "I am going to need to know the full story behind what has happened."_

 **( - )**

 **(In Wave with Naruto)**

"Clementine, Victor, do you two see anything?" Naruto muttered to his two teammates as he perched alongside them on one of the upper branches of a tree.

"Nothing, those Konoha ANBU are probably long gone by now." Victor muttered in reply as he looked over to Naruto.

"I still don't get why the fuck we are hiding. This is neutral territory let's just go do your idea then get out of here." Clementine muttered irritably from Naruto other side. "And if any of those tree huggers get in our way, we kill them nice and quietly."

"It's likely the ANBU have one of those Hirashin markers the Fourth Hokage uses. Last thing we need is a pissed off Hokage coming after us." Naruto replied his own voice harsh after having had this conversation with Clementine before.

"Whatever." Clementine muttered before she started to look around the quiet forested area of Wave they were currently in. "Anyway like Victor said the ANBU are gone now. They probably just picked up those brats, searched around a bit and then left."

"Good." Naruto muttered in reply. "Then let's go. This should be quick, just an in and out job."

"So like your sex life then?" Clementine mocked, grinning widely as she saw him glare at her.

"Fuck you." Naruto muttered in reply.

"Not if it is just an in and out job?" Was Clementine's quick witted response to Naruto's less than eloquent retort.

"Why again are we friends with her?" Naruto asked Victor as said girl snickered to herself.

"Because I bring some excitement to your otherwise boring lives." Clementine replied mockingly.

"Come on let's go, I have a bad enough headache already. I don't want to make it worse dealing with your shit." Naruto replied as he leapt from his hiding place.

What he had just said was true; he did have a bad headache. But that was mostly the fault of You. After Naruto had consumed both Kakashi's soul and life force, You had decided to get some more practice. He had since spent the last two hours trying to pry as much from Kakashi's soul as he could. The first thing he tried to get was the Sharingan eye, but had found that he couldn't transfer it over to Naruto. Next he went for Kakashi's memories. The man was known for having copied a thousand jutsu with his Sharingan eye and You was more than eager to check those out.

His success with this had been somewhat better. Due to how well organized Kakashi's mind was, You had been able to take a lot of Kakashi's memories from his captured soul. These memories included some of his training and battles. Now due to the nature of Naruto's chakra he could not use elemental jutsu anymore, after all his chakra embodied death. This meant that it was very potent and very volatile; as such it could not be manipulated into the different elements, at least not without massive control and will power. This in battle was not something you could do with ease or on the fly, at least not without a lot of training and even more experience.

But it was very malleable and also very versatile, thus You had set about adapting and changing Kakashi's techniques, making new versions of them that Naruto could use. Which although useful for Naruto was also very annoying, as You's constant muttering echoed around his head causing him a massive headache.

'You would you please shut the fuck up!' Naruto thought harshly to himself.

" **I could, but then again I could also stop making up new techniques for you to use. A shame too, as I just found the memories where Kakashi created the Chidori. Such a shame, imagine how fun a death powered Chidori would have been… ah well…"** You trailed off. Naruto was more than aware that his other half was smirking to himself as he was saying this.

'Don't be shitty.' Naruto replied to You.

" **You're the one being shitty not me. Here I am going through that perverted scarecrows creepy memories and why? Because I want us to get stronger, yet how do you react? You tell me to shut up."** You replied with false sadness.

'You can be a real dick sometimes.' Naruto muttered.

" **You do realise that technically I am you, so by calling me a dick you are in fact calling yourself a dick?"** You questioned mockingly.

Naruto didn't answer him though because at that point they had reached their destination.

In front of them was a large mansion, surrounded on all sides by high walls, with mean looking thugs patrolling them.

"Hmm, looks cozy." Naruto muttered as he looked up at the large mansion. "Clementine, I want you and Victor to get rid of all the thugs. Do what you want with them I don't care."

"Are you going to go after Gatou then?" Clementine questioned as she unsheathed the Kubikiribocho from behind her back. A large grin spreading across her face, even as her pink eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Of course." Naruto muttered as he unsealed his axe, giving it a few practice swings as he did so. "Liberating Wave from his evil ways is going to be my good deed for the day."

"And stealing his vast wealth? What is that going to be?" Clementine asked sarcastically.

"That is going to be Gatou giving a charitable donation to Kiri. With maybe a bonus thrown in for us." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Make sure it is a nice bonus. I feel like treating myself." Clementine added.

"When do you not?" Victor asked as he kept his eyes fixed on the building in front of him. "Alright Pain, you go find Gatou do that soul eating thing of yours, get all his wealth and then we can get out of here. Lady Terumi probably expected us back a day ago"

"That is the plan." Naruto replied as he channeled chakra to his legs before he leapt from where he was stood. Easily clearing the high wall as he soared over it, only to land noiselessly on the roof of Gatou's mansion.

"How about a competition patchwork? Who can kill the most goons?" Clementine asked as she looked over at Victor.

"Bitch please, as if it will even be a challenge to beat you." Was Victor's snappy reply.

"Oh it's on, it is so on!"

 **( - )**

 **(A couple of days later in Konoha, the Hokage's Office)**

It was a dark day in Konoha as the remaining members of Team 7 were ushered into the Hokage's office. It had been two day's since they had returned from Wave, bloody and battered, and only an hour since they were released from the hospital.

Sasuke Uchiha had been admitted to the hospital for severe infection, he had a wound on his stomach in the shape of a foot. At first the Medic-nin has thought it was a burn of some sort, however deeper inspection showed that the damaged flesh had actually been rotted, so much so that he gained a nasty infection from the festering wound. The Medic-nins had had to cut away the diseased flesh before healing it; this was a long process as the Uchiha by that point had become delirious.

Sakura Haruna had been admitted to the hospital due to a spinal injury. Apparently she had been slapped aside during the fight with the enemy Shinobi and had been sent crashing through a number of trees. Her body had been pretty broken, with severe damage having been done to her spine. The Medic-nins though she would recover, but had admitted that it could take a number of years of rehabilitation before she could be fit to be a Shinobi again.

Mito Namikaze too had been taken to the hospital. But unlike her teammates, she had been taken for mostly superficial reasons. She had admitted to the ANBU team that retrieved her and her teammates that she had used the Kyuubi's chakra, having taken it as far as using two tails. This had of course concerned Minato who ordered her taken to the hospital, where he asked Jiraiya and Kushina to check her over to make sure she was ok.

Hearing the door to his office open, Minato looked up to see two of the three remaining members of Team 7 file into the room. Minato frowned slightly as he saw the sorry state they were all still in. The Uchiha boy was pale, very pale, his hands still trembling slightly. Though whether that was in fear or anger Minato couldn't tell, the boy's face was completely blank. Mito though, she was clearly upset, she had dark bags under her eyes, no doubt from her not being able to sleep and was a lot quieter than she usually was.

"Thank you for coming you two. If you take a seat we can begin." Minato said kindly, gesturing to the two seats in front of his desk. Some may think him insensitive for calling the both of them in when they were still so shaken and had only just been released from the hospital. But Minato didn't have a choice; he had a missing presumed dead Jonin and a potential skirmish with a foreign Village. He needed to know about everything that happened. Only then could he decide where to go from here. At the moment the only action he had taken was sending out ANBU to complete Team 7's mission and search for Kakashi if he was still alive. Those ANBU had returned earlier this morning, reporting back no sign of Kakashi and that Gatou and his thugs were all missing presumed dead as well. This pretty much made the mission null and void, not that they weren't still keeping the payment for it though.

Nodding the two genin silently took their seats, looking over the desk at their Hokage as they waited for him to speak again.

"So Mito, I would like for you to tell me what happened. Don't leave out any details and make sure you are as accurate as possible. I need to know exactly what went down in Wave?" Minato said as he fixed his eyes on his daughter, conscious as he did so that Iruka their old academy teacher shifted slightly in his chair at the side of the room as he did so. He had called in their teacher both for emotional support and also so the man could write down everything the two said. He would need their report documented for his records.

Also in the room were both Kushina and Jiraiya, though their reason for being there were quite obvious. Kushina was there for Mito, and Jiraiya was there as Minato's advisor and spy master.

"Sasuke I would like you to add anything Mito might miss." Minato added in as he looked down at the still pale Uchiha. He had brought them both in at the same time because he knew it was the best way to get the truth out of them, their reactions to what each other said would tell him everything. Not that he thought Mito would deliberately lie to him, the Uchiha though…

"Ok." The Uchiha replied curtly, with a swift nod of his head.

"Ok then I would like you to begin with when you got to Wave." Minato said, knowing that this is where the trouble went down. The confrontation with the Demon Brothers had already been included in the report Kakashi sent back when he requested reinforcement.

"We got to the island by boat." Mito began her voice shaky at first, before it strengthened as she continued to speak. "It was around two in the afternoon when we made it onto the island. It was misty when we arrived and wet. As soon as we docked up the boat we used we made our way in land, heading towards Tazuna's house."

"Where did you get the boat?" Minato asked calmly.

"It was owned by a friend of Tazuna, the guy took us to wave undercover of the mist on the shore." Mito replied slightly confused.

"Was the boat man nervous? Did he ask any questions about what you were doing?" Minato asked again, Iruka jotting down everything that was said as he did so.

"Well yeah he was nervous, but that was more about us getting caught sneaking into Wave. He seemed to know Tazuna quite well." Mito replied her confusion growing.

"Ok and when you docked his boat did he wait around to see where you went next?" Minato asked again.

"No he just left again. Why are you asking so much about the boat man?" Mito asked her confusion turning to irritation.

"I am just making sure we have a clear picture on the exact events of what happened." Minato replied calmly, not reacting to Mito's sudden spike of irritation. He knew being interrogated wasn't easy, even when it was just a simple conversation like this. "So what happened then, you started travelling inland?"

"Yes, we traveled in land from the coast. Everything was quiet as we went, though we were all still on edge because of the Shinobi who attacked us earlier. As we were travelling I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye, I reacted and threw a shuriken that hit this rabbit." Mito continued, calming down as she once more got into recounting the events of that day.

"A rabbit?" Minato asked curiously. "What kind of rabbit?"

"It was just some white rabbit. Why does it matter?" Mito asked impatiently.

"A white rabbit Minato at this time of year." Jiraiya spoke up, sharing a knowing look with Minato.

"Yes, no doubt one that is meant to be used for substitution if necessary. A bit of an archaic trick, not one you see much nowadays." Minato replied nodding for Iruka to write that down. "Ok Mito what happened next."

"Zabuza happened; he threw his sword at us. But we noticed it and managed to duck down and avoid it, I mean both me and Kakashi were able to sense him coming so he wasn't able to take us by surprise. After we did that Zabuza showed himself standing on a tree branch." Mito continued carefully, making sure she got her facts right.

"And was Zabuza alone?" Minato asked, sitting up straighter as he did so.

"Well yes, or at least he was at first." Mito replied a frown on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Minato asked as he waved down Jiraiya who looked like he was going to ask Mito the same thing.

"Well When Zabuza showed himself Kakashi recognised him, just like how Zabuza recognised Kakashi. Anyway Kakashi lifted his headband and showed his Sharingan, which Zabuza already knew about. After that they began to fight. Kakashi told us to get in a defensive formation around the client while he did this, which is what we did." Mito continued as she looked over to Sasuke, only to see the boy still staring off blankly, seemingly not paying attention to the conversation. "So yeah Kakashi and Zabuza had just started fighting when someone threw some shuriken between them. The both saw it coming and jumped apart."

"So someone threw shuriken between them to split them up?" Minato asked a slight frown on his face as Mito nodded. "What happened next?"

"Well Zabuza shouted out a name… which was…" Mito began as she tried to remember the name Zabuza called out.

"Haku." Sasuke added in tonelessly.

"Oh yeah, right Zabuza shouted out for this Haku who turned up next to him. But this Haku said she wasn't the one who threw the shuriken." Mito continued speaking, throwing a grateful look to Sasuke.

"So Zabuza and his accomplice did not know who threw the shuriken, which suggests they probably weren't working together. So what happened next?"

"Well a voice started speaking, he told Kakashi to take his team and leave with Tazuna. But Kakashi refused to back off until he knew who they were." Mito continued speaking.

"So Kakashi suspected they might have something to do with Zabuza, which would mean he would not retreat without knowing that they wouldn't attack him from behind. You said they though Mito, were there more than one?"

"Er… yes there were three different voices speaking." Mito replied. "Then when they did reveal themselves I only saw three."

"A standard Hunter-nin team then." Jiraiya spoke up as he once again made his presence known. "And if they were giving Kakashi a chance to leave he should have taken it, caution is good, but being overcautious can get you killed."

"I am sure Kakashi did what he thought was right." Minato replied to Jiraiya before he turned back to Mito. "So what happened next? Did they reveal themselves?"

"Yes they did after telling us to back off once more. A female voice spoke up, she sounded kind of impatient. Anyway she leapt in to attack Zabuza she was wearing a black mask that looked like a skull. Another guy followed her; he also had a mask on though it was weird, kind of patchwork like. Anyway he went to help his comrade but was instead attacked by Zabuza's accomplice." Mito continued on, trying to remember what she could of the other two, she had only seen them briefly before she and her teammates had retreated from the clearing, as such she couldn't give much of a description of them. "The other member of their team though, the leader I think, he appeared before us. He was so fast he was almost a blur."

"And what did this man who confronted you look like?" Minato questioned, he had heard how unsure she was about the other two, so decided to focus on the one she seemed more confident about.

"Well he was tall around your height dad. He was also quite stocky; he had big muscles on his arms and probably his legs. He also had a mask on though it was completely black and didn't even have a Village symbol on it… what else… oh yeah, he also had this big silver axe that he had in his hand." Mito continued on as she tried to give the best description she could of him.

"Most Hunter-nin do not usually show their Village symbol so the fact that they didn't is not that surprising. The axe though and the black mask. They seem familiar." Minato muttered to himself before looking up at a thoughtful Jiraiya "Any idea?"

"Yeah the description sounds very familiar." Jiraiya also muttered as he tried to remember which of the numerous Shinobi it could be.

"Oh, Kakashi recognised. He said he was someone called Grimm, and that he was in our Bingo Book and that he might work for Kiri." Mito added in helpfully.

"Grimm that is who it is!" Minato said as he began to search through the stack of documents on his desk looking for his copy of the Bingo Book.

"Okay here we go." Minato muttered as he found the book before he flipped through it. When he got to the right page he showed the picture on it to Mito and Sasuke. "Is this the man you are talking about?"

 **(Bingo Book Entry)**

Name: Unknown

Clan: Unknown

Alias: The Grimm

Rank: A-Rank Hunter-nin

Village: Unknown (suspected to be Kirigakure)

Status: Alive

Abilities: Tracking Skills, Assassination Skills, known to be skilled in Kenjutsu. Further skills unknown, no one has ever survived fighting him.

Weapons: Silver war axe made of chakra metal.

Associates: The Monster (See page 37.) and The Cannibal (See page 43)

Known Bounties:

20,000 ryo in Konoha

25,000 ryo in Iwa

55,000 ryo in Kumo

Known Crimes: Assassination, Torture, Operating without permission in foreign lands.

 **(End of Entry)**

Looking at the picture Mito nodded. "Yeah, that is the guy who confronted us. At least I think it is. Kakashi definitely call him Grimm. Which would make the other two 'The Cannibal' and 'The Monster'?"

"Ok, so what happened next?" Minato asked as he put the Bingo Book down. He was worried now, not much may have been known about this Shinobi's abilities but the fact he and his team were all A-rank was worrying. He wouldn't even send a Jonin team to deal with them let alone a genin team.

"Well anyway after that Kakashi told him that he knew who he was. To which 'Grimm' told him to back off as Kakashi was interfering in his mission." Mito replied as she tried to remember everything that had happened. After all it had all happened so fast.

"A reasonable request, especially since they were not a threat to Kakashi or his mission. So where did it go wrong" Jiraiya interrupted again, only to receive and elbow in the gut from Kushina.

"Well if you would stop interrupting we can find out!" Kushina replied irritably, before she smiled gently at her daughter. "Please go on sweetie, I know it might be hard but we have to know what happened."

"Right." Mito replied as she sent Sasuke a nervous glance. "Well this Grimm guy appeared in front of us and told us to leave. But before we could ermm… before we could…"

"I attacked." Sasuke spoke out still toneless.

"And why did you attack him Sasuke. Did Kakashi give you an order?" Minato asked his eyes narrowing as he looked down at the young Uchiha.

"No, but the guy was a threat though!" Mito said talking for Sasuke."That's why he attacked, you know take him by surprise."

"Is that true Sasuke?" Minato asked calmly ignoring Mito's last comment. The chance a genin could take an A-ranked Shinobi by surprise was almost laughable.

"Kakashi said he had a bounty on him from Konoha. That seemed to upset the guy. I… I thought he was going to attack so I decided to attack first." Sasuke replied. It was a half truth at best; he did think the man was going to attack. But that wasn't why he charged him; no he attacked him to test himself against someone strong. Only he never really got a chance to in the end.

"Judging by the fact you are not dead I take it Kakashi stopped you." Minato asked, sensing that at least some of what Sasuke said was true, but knowing that he was most likely trying to cover himself. But he would leave it for now; actions would be taken later if he deemed them appropriate but for now he wanted to get the rest of the story.

"Yeah, the guy raised his axe to hit Sasuke but Kakashi dragged him back and then he started to fight with him." Mito replied. "He told us to get back after that and join Sakura. Oh yeah, he had already told Sakura to retreat back by that point with the client." Mito added on.

Minato nodded his head before asking for her to continue. He knew he would have to send them to Inochi to get a more detailed account of exactly what happened, but for now he wanted to hear their account of what happened whilst it was still fresh in their memories.

"But before we retreated I did see Kakashi send a 'lightning dragon jutsu; at him. Only for the guy to block it with some chakra chains!" Mito replied as she remembered that detail.

"Chakra chains?" Kushina asked sharply as both Jiraiya and Minato reacted in surprise.

"Yeah they were kind of similar to yours and Erza's Uzumaki Chakra Chains. But they were also different. They weren't gold like yours they were grey." Mito replied as she looked to her mother to see what she would say about that.

"He has a possible Uzumaki lineage then." Kushina muttered. "Wouldn't be surprising if he was from Kiri, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of refugees from my Clan fled to the Land of Water to hide after Uzu fell."

"I would have thought we would have heard of this. Especially if an A-ranked Shinobi showed that he was capable of using them?" Minato said looking over at Jiraiya his spymaster.

"Not if this guy never allowed anyone who saw his abilities to escape him. The only question is why he spared the genin. Surely he now knows that information will get out. Kumo have been after the Uzumaki bloodline for decades. Why spare them?" Jiraiya asked the room at large.

"That I don't know. This worries me." Minato replied as he scowled at nothing, thinking of why Grimm did what he did, if there is one thing that is dangerous to a Shinobi it is the unknown.

"We can leave that for now, I want to know what happened after that." Minato said as he turned his attention back to Mito and Sasuke.

"We retreated into the woods. We found Sakura and Tazuna and we continued to retreat. We could still hear the sounds of fighting though and see trees getting destroyed and explosions. I also think I saw Kakashi using a Chidori on the guy." Mito continued as she looked back to her father trying to explain what she saw in as much detail as she could.

"So he was taking the fight seriously. What were the other Hunter-nins doing at this point?" Minato asked having not forgotten about the others.

"I don't know. We left the clearing quite quickly. We moved away, but we did keep track of Kakashi-sensei" Mito continued. "We ended up taking Tazuna to his house where we left him with some of my shadow clones. After that we went back to help Kakashi-sensei."

"The other Hunter-nins were probably dealing with Zabuza then, no doubt he is now dead and on his way back to Kiri." Minato replied before he looked expectantly at Mito. "So you went to help Kakashi, what was his status when you found him."

"He was on the run. That Grimm guy had sent some weird grey clones after Kakashi and he was struggling to fight them off. His left hand was already injured, it looked grey and rotten and he was covered in cuts and wounds." Mito spoke her face turning pale as she thought back on her Sensei's injuries. "When we saw he was struggling we went to help him."

"He had grey clones?" Minato asked slightly confused before he turned to Jiraiya "Some kind of new clone jutsu?"

"Maybe." Jiraiya replied thoughtfully. "Though from the sounds of it, his chakra chains were also grey, so it could just be an abnormality of his chakra or it could be some new and obscure bloodline."

"It's worth looking into." Minato replied with a nod as he saw Iruka note it down. "So Kakashi was on the defensive and was injured? It appears this Grimm is more dangerous than we thought. So what happened next?"

From there Mito began to explain what had happened. How both she and Sasuke had went to help Kakashi. How they had momentarily driven Grimm back with their elemental jutsu. How Grimm had fought back, knocking Sakura away first and then Sasuke, the two of them having been knocked out of the fight and consciousness at that point. It was at that point that Mito admitted her memories became fuzzy.

For Minato and Kushina they knew that this meant. It meant that she had started using the Kyuubi's chakra.

"Is there anything you can remember after that Mito? Anything at all?" Minato asked his daughter.

"No I just felt angry and lashed out at him, but I got trapped by his chakra chains. I just couldn't move no matter how much I struggled. More than that his chakra chains seemed to bind my chakra, holding it back almost like yours does mum." Mito continued her brow furrowed as she tried to remember what happened when she had used the Kyuubi's chakra. It was a struggle though as her mind was clouded by anger and rage at the time.

"His chakra chains stopped you?" Minato asked in surprise, this for him made it very likely that this Grimm must have some Uzumaki heritage. The coincidences were too much. A shared look from Kushina told him she had come to a similar conclusion. Furthermore the fact that Kiri had a Shinobi that could possibly restrain the Jinchuuriki of the most powerful Bijuu was worrying.

Throughout this Sasuke was looking around in confusion, he knew they were talking about something important. But he didn't know what it was.

"Was that it then? Do you not remember anything else?" Minato said as he looked back to Mito.

"Ermm…" Mito began as she strained her mind trying to think. After a few seconds just when Minato was about to tell her that she didn't need to strain herself. Mito opened her eyes as she looked over to her father. "I do remember something else."

"What is it?" Minato asked as he focused on his daughter.

"The last thing I remember seeing before I passed out. It is blurry, but I think I saw Kakashi hit Grimm, with a Chidori to the chest." Mito finished as she tried to remember. She had been on the verge of passing out at that, but she remembered the sound of crackling lighting that caused her to open her eyes.

"A Chidori to the chest. That's could have been a killing blow." Minato finished as he looked around at the other people in the room. "But if Kakashi managed to kill Grimm what happened to him after that?"

"Maybe the teammates, maybe they finished with Zabuza and came across Kakashi just after he killed their comrade." Kushina said as she thought up what could have happened. "But then again maybe Grimm managed to survive the Chidori to the chest, if he has Uzumaki heritage like we suspect it would not be to unlikely for him to have survived. We Uzumaki are a resilient and durable lot."

"Okay Mito, Sasuke you may go." Minato said tiredly as he rubbed his forehead. "I would like for Inochi Yamanaka to have a look at your memories of the incident if that is acceptable." Minato continued knowing he could force them if he wanted but deciding to ask first.

"Yeah okay." Mito replied with a nod of her head. She had already met Inochi through her friendship with his daughter Ino. She trusted him enough to let him use his jutsu on her.

Sasuke however grunted before nodding. He had had the Yamanaka poking in his mind before. The Hokage had made sure he had his mind examined after the Uchiha massacre. He may not like it but he knew he didn't really have a choice.

"Thank you." Minato said as he smiled down at the two.

"Ermm dad, before we go could I ask…" Mito began uncertainly. "Is Sakura okay?"

"She was badly injured Mito but she will make a full recovery." Minato replied with a slight smile as he saw the relieved look on his daughters face at the news that her teammate was okay. "Unfortunately she will not be fit for Shinobi service for while."

"Then what will happen to our team?" Mito asked her eyes wide.

Sasuke also looking worried about what will happen to his Shinobi career, if the team was to be disbanded, after all he would never get stronger if he had to go back to the academy to wait for a new team.

"I have already though about that." Minato replied calmly, not surprised that they would be worried over what would happen to them if Sakura wasn't able to return to the field for at least a year. "I have contacted Yugao and asked whether she would take over as your Jonin Sensei with her apprentice Erza taking over Sakura's position."

"So that mean me and Erza will be on the same genin team!?" Mito said a slight grin on her face at this.

"Yes. Though I am sure she will have her own genin test that you must pass before she accepts you." Minato replied.

Both Sasuke and Mito groaned at that.

"Now you two should run along. The sooner you see Inochi the sooner you can get it over with and relax." Minato replied as he gestured for them to leave.

"Okay dad!" Mito replied as she stood up, letting out a tired yawn as she did so. "Tell us if you find Kakashi-sensei though please?"

"Mito you know…" Kushina began uncomfortably.

"I know. But there is also a chance he is not." Mito said with a strained smile, even as she left the room, Sasuke silently following her out.

As the door closed behind them Minato looked over to Kushina and Jiraiya

"Sounds like Kakashi went down fighting." Jiraiya muttered. "What a waste. You know the Uchiha was lying don't you, this whole thing could have been avoided if he kept his head."

"You can't blame it all on the boy. He made a simple mistake, he didn't mean for any of this to happen." Kushina replied as she frowned at the white haired sage.

"He is a Shinobi; to make a mistake is to invite death." Jiraiya relied harshly. "Will he be sanctioned?"

"Possibly, however due to his status as the last Uchiha, a number of nobles in the Land of Fire have taken an interest. Having him as a Shinobi would be a great asset." Minato replied as he rubbed his face, deeply saddened by the loss of his last student. Now Kakashi had gone to join Obito and Rin in the next life.

"Maybe." Jiraiya grunted. "So what are we going to do about this mess?"

"There is not much we can do. We hold a funeral and move on." Minato replied as he looked out of the window sadly.

"I meant with this whole situation." Jiraiya replied.

"What can we do? The skirmish happened in a neutral country. Our Shinobi initiated the fight and interfered with a Hunter-nins mission." Minato replied as he frowned at Jiraiya "Politically speaking the Hunter-nin were justified in protecting themselves and so we can't claim any compensation. We can't even claim back Kakashi's body as he had a bounty on his head from Kiri. Also that is not taking into account the possibility that Kakashi killed one of them"

"But we can create sanctions of our own. You are not just a politician Minato. You are the leader of a Shinobi Village. Now I am not suggesting war or even a dissolution of the existing relationship between Kiri and Konoha. But we have to do something otherwise it will be seen as weakness." Kushina spoke up, voicing her own thought. "What about we increase the bounty on the Grimm's head and his teams, make it so high that he and his comrades can never operate missions again due to their fear of being hunted down and killed for his bounty."

"But it is possible Grimm is dead." Minato replied.

"Possible yes, but not certain. His teammates to are also likely alive." Kushina added. "Even if they are not, by raising the bounty we will show that we are doing something. That we are not just taking the loss of one of our elites without consequences."

"Ok I do like the sound of that." Minato replied as he nodded his head. "Iruka!"

Iruka jumped slightly at that, before he looked over to the Hokage, a shiver going down his spin as he saw the look in his eyes.

"Take a message to the Shinobi administration office for me. The bounty for the Grimm is to be increase to 300,000 ryo. His ranking is to be increased to S-rank and the abilities he showed are to be added to his bio. Also increase his teammate's bounties to 150,000 a piece. Once that is done make sure it is circulated through the other Shinobi Villages." Minato said his voice harsh as he got back at his students killer the only way he knew how. "Make the order kill on sight."

"Yes Lord Hokage!"

 **( - )**

 **AN: SO I know some of you might be surprised by Minato's kind of muted response to Kakashi's death. The reason in my mind is that he is being pragmatic and practical especially around his subordinates. As a leader he can not give into displays of emotion that may show weakness, even when he is in friendly territory.**

 **Also I know I may seem like not a lot happened, but I wanted to show Mito's character, her relationship with her teammates and family. Also what information Minato would take away from this and what his response would be.**

 **Next chapter will be Naruto's return to Kiri, his meeting with Mei, Mei's response and several other bits and pieces that will move the story along. In a rather interesting way. Also we will soon be meeting Erza again and see what she has been up to.**

 **So yeah please leave a comment or a review I really appreciate the support this story has received so far. If you have any questions please ask and I will try to get back to you. I answer most of them though I do know I miss one or two by accident.**

 **Will see you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: So here is the next chapter hope you enjoy. Sorry about not updating sooner. Have just come back from a month long holiday and was to busy to have any time to right. But anyway here it is I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto etc.**

 **(Last Time)**

" _Possibly, however due to his status as the last Uchiha, a number of nobles in the Land of Fire have taken an interest. Having him as a Shinobi would be a great asset." Minato replied as he rubbed his face, deeply saddened by the loss of his last student. Now Kakashi had gone to join Obito and Rin in the next life._

" _Maybe." Jiraiya grunted. "So what are we going to do about this mess?"_

" _There is not much we can do. We hold a funeral and move on." Minato replied as he looked out of the window sadly._

" _I meant with this whole situation." Jiraiya replied._

" _What can we do? The skirmish happened in a neutral country. Our Shinobi initiated the fight and interfered with a Hunter-nins mission." Minato replied as he frowned at Jiraiya "Politically speaking the Hunter-nin were justified in protecting themselves and so we can't claim any compensation. We can't even claim back Kakashi's body as he had a bounty on his head from Kiri. Also that is not taking into account the possibility that Kakashi killed one of them"_

" _But we can create sanctions of our own. You are not just a politician Minato. You are the leader of a Shinobi Village. Now I am not suggesting war or even a dissolution of the existing relationship between Kiri and Konoha. But we have to do something otherwise it will be seen as weakness." Kushina spoke up, voicing her own thought. "What about we increase the bounty on the Grimm's head and his teams, make it so high that he and his comrades can never operate missions again due to their fear of being hunted down and killed for his bounty."_

" _But it is possible Grimm is dead." Minato replied._

" _Possible yes, but not certain. His teammates to are also likely alive." Kushina added. "Even if they are not, by raising the bounty we will show that we are doing something. That we are not just taking the loss of one of our elites without consequences."_

" _Ok I do like the sound of that." Minato replied as he nodded his head. "Iruka!"_

 _Iruka jumped slightly at that, before he looked over to the Hokage, a shiver going down his spin as he saw the look in his eyes._

" _Take a message to the Shinobi administration office for me. The bounty for the Grimm is to be increase to 300,000 ryo. His ranking is to be increase to S-rank and the abilities he showed are to be added to his bio. Also increase his teammate's bounties to 150,000 a piece. Once that is done make sure it is circulated through the other Shinobi Villages." Minato said his voice harsh as he got back at his students killer the only way he knew how. "Make the order kill on sight."_

" _Yes Lord Hokage!"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 13**

 **(In the Mizukage's Tower in Kirigakure)**

Naruto couldn't help but scowl as he entered the Mizukage's tower. His eyes flicking from side to side as he saw the blank masked faces of Kiri's ANBU watching him carefully as he made his way to the Mizukage's office, the silent masked Shinobi shadowing his movements as he continued on through the building. He had barely set foot in the Village when he had been summoned to see the Mizukage.

Walking just behind and to the sides of him, was both Victor and Clementine. They like him had been summoned.

Letting out a sigh as he reached the large double doors leading to Mei's office, Naruto absentmindedly glanced at the two ANBU who were guarding the door. Weighing up their strengths and finding them lacking. With his brief assessment made Naruto passed them and entered the Mizukage's office.

"Ahh Pain, how good of you to finally grace us with your presence." Ao said as soon as he saw Naruto enter the room.

"Oh blow it out of your arse Cyclops." Naruto replied barely even glancing at Mei's right hand man, a seasoned veteran and a highly skilled Shinobi in his own right.

Clementine let out a barely restrained snort of amusement at that, a slightly malicious gleam entering her pink eyes as she saw Ao swell up in outrage at Naruto's comments.

"Of all the cheek!" Ao growled as he glared through his single visible eye at Naruto. "Back in my day youngster knew…"

"Ao…" Mei interrupted as she gave Naruto a warning look before she turned to look at Ao her expression darkening. "Shut up… or I'll kill you…"

Ao paled rapidly at that, despite Mei having made that threat so many times it had almost become a catchphrase for her when she was addressing Ao.

Turning away from Ao, Mei's green eyes came to rest on Naruto's own crimson eyes. Her lips quirking slightly as she saw the slight smile now on Naruto's face. It was a cute expression, a genuine show of humanity that Pain as she knew him, only really showed when he was around those he trusted. He would of course laugh and joke with the other Mist Shinobi when he was in bars, or on the training field. But in such instances there was a constant wariness about him. A caution that was common to Shinobi like him. Hunter-nins, men and women who are in almost constant danger as they traverse the continent passing through enemy territory as they would allied territory. It was a caution and wariness that was ingrained into seasoned Shinobi like Pain, Clementine and Victor.

But there were these small instances where he fully let down his emotional guard. Instances that only occurred when he was around those he trusted implicitly. A very short list, but one she had the honour of being a part of.

"I wouldn't be so amused if I were you Pain." Mei said only to internally wince, as the genuine emotion left Naruto's face, to be replaced by the cold, slightly arrogant amusement he used as his mask. It was a stark contrast to the genuine smile he had had before, one made all the more jarring when you were able to tell the difference between his mask and his real self.

"Oh really?" Naruto question his eyebrow slight raised as he met Mei's eyes. "I would have though you would be pleased to see us. We have after all completed the mission you gave us."

With that said Naruto raised his right arm into the air, the kanji tattooed on his wrist glowing as he channeled his chakra into it.

With a slight puff of smoke, the Kiba blades appeared in front of Naruto; as he easily caught both the blade sin his hands, before laying them down on Mei's desk. With that done, he turned and gave Clementine an expectant look.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde girl, pulled out a sealing scroll form a pouch on her hip, unsealing Zabuza's blade form it as she did so. With that done, she also placed the oversized cleaver on Mei's desk. Though unlike Naruto who gave up the Kiba blades without a care, a flicker of regret passed across Clementine's face as she relinquished her possession of the Kubikiribocho. She had taken a liking to the sword, and was less than happy to be giving it up.

If Mei saw this she didn't' say anything as she looked at two of Kiri's legendary blades on her desk, before she looked back up at Naruto.

"I take it that neither Zabuza nor Raiga accepted your invitation for them to rejoin Kiri?" Mei asked as gave Naruto an inscrutable look.

"We didn't get a chance to ask. As soon as we revealed ourselves they both attacked us, though judging from how well they were doing as rogue Shinobi, I very much doubt they would have returned, even if I had had the chance to offer." Naruto replied, telling a half truth at best. After all the full truth was that he hadn't even considered inviting the two swordsmen back to the Village, they were both mad dogs and would only have brought harm to Kiri had they returned.

"I see." Mei replied as she gave Naruto an assessing look. Letting out a slight sigh Mei shook her head slightly. "Well no matter, they both would have no doubt become liabilities had they returned. You retrieved the blades and that is all that matters."

"We retrieved more than just the blades." Naruto spoke up as he looked at both Victor and Clementine, before returning his gaze to Mei. Reaching into one his pouches, Naruto pulled out a number of scrolls, before he placed them down on Mei's desk.

"And what are these?" Mei questioned, as she sent Naruto an expectant look.

Gesturing at the larger scroll Naruto replied. "This one contains all of the wealth the shipping magnate Gatou had in his treasury as well as a number of contracts that sign over all of the man's business's both legal and illegal over to Kiri."

Both Mei's and Ao's eyes widened at that. If what Naruto was saying was true, then in one fell swoop he had almost doubled the amount of money coming into Kiri from both the Damiyo of the Land of Water's funding and from the missions they take. Something that could make Kiri the richest of the Shinobi Villages or at least it could if Mei put trustworthy people in charge of Gatou's many businesses to act as proxies for her, which would give Kiri many other sources of income upon which they can rely on.

This along with the retrieval of the swords, made Naruto's mission incredibly successful and beneficial for Kiri as a whole.

"So what is in the other two?" Mei questioned as she looked down at the other two scrolls Naruto had placed on her desk. "Any other fortunes you acquired whilst on your mission?"

Naruto ignored the jest, as he instead point at one of the scroll s and spoke up. "In this scroll, is the body of a Shinobi we fought. They wielded a currently unknown doujutsu, one which could benefit Kiri. Its full powers however are not fully known; however form what I saw it is similar in nature to a Byakugan, only more powerful."

As he said that Naruto glanced over at Ao, a Shinobi who had an implanted Byakugan hidden behind his eye patch.

"After the body has been examined it is my opinion that the doujutsu could be implanted in trusted Shinobi, thus adding to the strength of Kiri. Though a proper medical examination may be required before you think about implanting one of them, who knows what might happen." Naruto continued as he once again looked to Mei.

Mei leaned back in her chair as she heard that. Naruto was of course right that the doujutsu would need to be properly examined before she allowed them to be implanted into any of her Shinobi. The possibilities however behind this unknown doujutsu were certainly intriguing.

"Do you have any recommendation on who should be given these doujutsu?" Mei questioned, genuinely interested in his answer. She of course would make the final decision, but she was more than willing to hear Naruto's opinion on the matter.

Naruto looked down a scroll as he heard Mei's request. His mind racing as he thought about who could make use of having these doujutsu implanted." Nodding to himself, Naruto looked up at Mei before saying. "I would suggest both Clementine and Hodan could make use of having these doujutsu implanted. Their styles of fighting would benefit from the addition of the doujutsu"

Clementine looked over at Naruto sharply as she heard that, her pink eyes narrowing as she thought about what she had heard these eyes could do. And about how they could benefit her. In the end a slightly malicious smirk crossed her doll like face, as she thought of how much more death and destruction she could cause if she had access to the abilities that this doujutsu could offer.

Mei also gained a thoughtful look at his suggestions. She certainly saw why he suggested them, and the fact that they were both young and already powerful for their ages was an added benefit.

"So you do not think you or Victor should have the doujutsu?" Mei questioned as she looked from Naruto to Victor, the silver haired man having only nodded along in agreement as he heard Naruto's suggestion.

"No." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Due to the nature of my chakra, the doujutsu would be destroyed the minute it comes in contact with my chakra. And Victor has a similar problem, considering the nature of his abilities, if it was implanted on him it would need replacing within a few years."

Mei nodded at that, seeing the logic behind his answer. She was already familiar with the strengths and weakness behind the Stein Clan's bloodline, just as she was aware of the weaknesses behind all of the bloodlines in her Village, including the two she herself possessed. Well all except Pain, she knew vaguely what he could do, but he was always cagey on the details, and Mei trusted him enough to let him get away with being a bit vague.

"Ao, see to it that this scroll goes to the Medic-nins. I want to know exactly what we are dealing with before I make any decisions. Also take the scroll with Gatou's assets and wealth to the treasury department. There is a lot of work to be done and I want it to start as soon as possible." Mei said as she looked to her right hand.

Ao nodded in agreement.

Mei blinked as she saw that Ao was still in the room.

"Now Ao…" Mei said a frown passing across her beautiful face.

"Yes Lady Mizukage." Ao said grumpily as he grabbed the two scrolls with a scowl and left the room to hand them to one of the Mizukage's secretaries.

"And the final scroll?" Mei questioned once again looking to Naruto.

"The last living member of the Yuki Clan, she was Zabuza's apprentice, and fought against us when we came to reclaim the blade. Luckily though, Victor, upon seeing her abilities and knowing of her pedigree decided to spare her life and bring her back to the Village for you to decide what to do with." Naruto said with a shrug. "She is a bit battered and bruised, but is otherwise okay. She is currently in stasis though, so it may take her a few hours to adjust after being released from the scroll."

Mei nodded at this, pleased that one of Kiri's oldest bloodlines had not gone extinct. Yet also concerned about how the girl might react to her Master Zabuza being killed.

Picking up the scroll, Mei nodded as she gestured for a nearby ANBU to take it. Take her to the Torture and Interrogation department. Have her seen to by Medic-nins, but otherwise confined. Make sure to tell the T&I Shinobi though that she is not to be harmed, and is to be treated with the courtesy." Mei wanted the girl to call Kiri home again, but knew that until she had spoken to the girl and assessed her trustworthiness she couldn't be allowed to wander.

Nodding the ANBU took the proffered scroll, before disappearing in a slight spray of mist.

"So overall it was a successful mission." Mei said as she turned back to her Hunter-nin team. "Or at least mostly."

"Mostly?" Naruto questioned in confusion. "I was not aware that we failed a single objective, save for the secondary objective of recruiting the two missing-nin?"

"You are correct that the mission itself was an overwhelming success, you retrieved the swords and also brought back a fortune in bloodlines and wealth" Mei said with a nod, before a slight frown crossed her face. "Unfortunately though, your actions in Wave against the Konoha team have caused me some trouble."

"You mean the death of Kakashi Hatake?" Naruto questioned knowingly. "He and his team interfered with our legitimate mission, whilst we were on neutral territory. I would have thought there would be little backlash on Kiri. Especially since we showed no Kiri marks?"

"Yes, and you are right that official Konoha can take no actions against us, not without them being seen as the aggressors." Mei said with a nod of her head. "However if you think Minato Namikaze is going to take the death of his last student well, then you are a fool."

The words were harsh, Mei knew that. Pain was only doing his duty, still though it would have caused her a lot less trouble, if he had shown some restraint when fighting Kakashi.

"I am confused." Naruto said a scowl on his face now. "If what you said is true about Konoha being unable to do anything to Kiri is true, then what is the problem?"

"The problem is that you allowed those Konoha genin to live. This in its self was a smart thing to do, considering the amount of backlash we would have received had you murdered the Yellow Flash's daughter and the Last Uchiha it could have led to war. But it also meant that they were able to give a report on what happened." Mei replied as she raised her hand to rub her forehead. "Namikaze has placed a high bounty on your heads, mainly yours Pain and also you now have the 'honour' of being an S-rank Shinobi. So much so that it will make your duty as a Hunter-nin all but impossible. Seeing as almost every bounty hunter in the Elemental Nations will be coming after the head of Grimm and his team." Mei said, using Naruto's code name.

Naruto winced at that, realising why she was pissed. Due to the nature of his abilities it meant that he couldn't just adopt a new identity and carry on his duty, no his abilities were distinctive and would identify him to anyone in the know and as a Hunter-nin he would be even more vulnerable as they don't wear the symbol of their Shinobi Village, meaning that they were free game. This meant, for the moment at least, that he would no longer be able be a Hunter-nin. With this bounty now on his head, it meant that whenever he left the village under the persona of Grimm, or as a Hunter-nin he would be a target, one that would endanger his team and whatever missions they were performing.

"Well shit…" Naruto said bluntly, absentmindedly licking his lips as he thought about the consequences of this shit situation. "What does that mean for our team?"

"It means that for the moment it will be disbanded." Mei said with a sigh. "At least until things calm down, or Konoha reduce the bounty on your head."

"Ok." Naruto said, not happy with the situation but understanding why it was necessary all the same.

"Ok? Ok? This is not fucking ok!" Clementine snapped, as she glared at both Mei and Naruto. "What the hell are we supposed to do if our team is disbanded?!"

Mei's expression darkened at the lack of respect Clementine was showing. "Keep a civil tongue Clementine; I am still your Mizukage!"

Clementine flinched at the tone of Mei's voice, before she realised just who she was swearing at and shut her mouth with a nod.

"As for what you will be doing." Mei continued shooting a glare at Clementine before catching both Naruto and Victor's eyes. "Clementine and Victor will be initiated into the newly formed Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Clementine will be issued with the Kubikiribocho and Victor will be given the Nuibari. They will be joining earlier than I had planned, but it matters not. They will both go into training with the other members."

Both Victor and Clementine gained looks of surprise at that statement. Though Clementine's lips did twitch upwards slightly as she realised that she would be getting the Kubikiribocho back. Victor however just looked shocked, especially as Mei placed a long needle like sword on her desk, one that had steal thread coming from the handle.

Gesturing for the two to take their respective blades, Mei continued speaking. The two of you will report to the Seven Swordsmen's training ground at noon, where you will begin your training in the use of your respective sword. After the training is completed you will be initiated into the Seven Swordsmen along with the other four initiates. By that point your team may be reformed again, or you might be sent after the final missing sword Samehada, depending on the circumstances at the time."

Victor nodded absentmindedly as he picked up the Nuibari reverently, his eyes shining at the thought of how he would use the needle like sword, a blade that literally was named the sewing needle. The blade was pretty much the perfect weapon for a member of the Stein family, which was no doubt the reason Mei had given it to him in the first place.

Clementine also grabbed her sword, hefting it onto her shoulder with ease. Unlike Victor though, who was a bit overcome with the sword given to him and the honour bestowed upon him, a former Outcast, Clementine instead looked o Naruto with a frown, before she looked back at Mei.

"What about Pain? Is he going to be given the Kiba blades?" She asked a slight frown on her face.

"No, I have a different duty for Pain." Mei replied calmly.

Clementine scowled at that, before she put her sword back on the table. "Then I can't join the Seven Swordsmen." She said bluntly surprising everyone in the room with that admission.

"And why is that?" Mei asked calmly, as she stared at the blonde.

She shrugged in reply. "Pain and I are a team. Where he goes, I go."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that, having not expected such loyalty. His surprise only lasted a moment though as he saw a frown pass across Victor's face, as he made to put his own sword back on the Mizukage's desk.

Letting out a sigh, Naruto spoke up. "Pick up your sword Clementine. We will still be a team after you finish your training."

Clementine gave him a stubborn look at that. "Besides I am not exactly a sword guy. Give me a good axe any day over some fancy sword."

Clementine snorted in amusement at that.

"Go on, you two join the Swordsmen. We will talk later. Either way, just remember that the team may officially be disbanded, but that doesn't mean shit in reality." Naruto added.

Clementine nodded at that, even as she once again grabbed her sword off of Mei's desk.

"Good, now you two can leave the room. Pain, you stay behind." Mei said as she gestured for the two former Hunter-nins to leave.

Giving them a slight nod, Naruto silently told them to do as they were told.

Looking between Mei and Naruto suspiciously Clementine grabbed Victor by the arm as she dragged him out of the office.

"So they are both joining the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. What am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked, as he grabbed a nearby chair and flung himself into it, an expectant look on his face as he looked to Mei.

Mei didn't answer at first, a curious look on her face as she inspected Naruto. "You caught me by surprise you know?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at that comment.

"The fact that you killed Kakashi Hatake, it caught me by surprise." Mei replied still giving Naruto an assessing look. "I always knew you were strong. Far too strong for someone your age. But I never realised just how powerful you are. Kakashi was a borderline S-class Shinobi, yet you were able to kill him one on one." Mei said a slight smile now on her face as she gave Naruto a proud look. "Very impressive."

Naruto nodded curtly at that, thanking her for her praise. "So what is it I am going to do?"

"I have a mission for you." Mei said a proud smile still on her face as she spoke. "I am making you a Jonin Sensei and am giving you a team of genin which you are to take to the upcoming chunin exams in Konoha."

Naruto blinked at that in surprise. "What about the bounty, if they find out who I am they will attempt to kill me."

"The bounty is for Grimm, a village-less Hunter-nin Not for Pain a Jonin of Kirigakure." Mei replied. "They may know who you are, but they can't do anything. Not without attacking a guest to their village and declaring war on Kirigakure. Placing a high bounty a Hunter-nin is one thing, but attack a Jonin form a neutral Village is completely another."

"Ok so I won't be attacked straight away. Why are you making me a teacher? I do not know the first thing about teaching genin." Naruto questioned, seeing the logic behind Mei's explanation.

"Well it is a good thing you won't be expected to teach them. Your team of 'genin' will all be high level chunin to low Jounin level Shinobi. A group of well trained Shinobi, who never moved passed genin due to other commitments. You will just be expected to go to Konoha and act as their Jonin Sensei whilst there." Mei replied.

"And why are you sending such an overpowered team to a chunin exam?" Naruto questioned suspiciously, something about this just didn't seem right to him.

Mei didn't answer at first. She instead gave Naruto a searching look, as if deciding how much she could trust him.

"Whilst you were on your mission, I received a visit from the a man calling himself the Otokage, apparantly he is the leader of a newly formed Shinobi Village in the Land of Rice, a village called Otogakure." Mei said, a frown on her face as she thought back o her meeting with the mysterious man. "The man came with a request for Kiri to join Otogakure and Sunagakure in an attack on Konoha during the chunin exams."

Naruto felt his blood freeze as he heard that.

"And what did you decide?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"I told him I would assist them. But that was a lie; I will not decide anything until I receive more information. This is why I am sending you to Konoha. You are to assess the Suna and Oto forces and find out their exact plan. You are also to assess the Konoha forces. Once you have done this you will report it back to me. Whilst you are doing this your team will be making their way to the third round of the exams, this will give me an excuse to come to Konoha with my most powerful Shinobi as my bodyguards." Mei said, outlining her plan to Naruto, knowing as she did that she could place her absolute trust in him.

"Then what will happen, will we help Konoha or will we attack them." Naruto questioned, quite conflicted as he did so.

When it came down to it Naruto would happily die for Kiri and for the Mizukage. This was his home and he would fight for it. But he also still loved his family, his mother and father and both of his sisters. He would happily die and kill to keep them safe. And there was the crutch as found himself caught between his loyalty to his home and his love of his family.

"That depends on you report. If it is likely that the invasion will succeed we will assist in the invasion and reap the benefits. Including taking as many of Konoha's bloodline and jutsu as we can before leaving. As after having met the Otokage I have no doubt he will attempt to betray us. However if it is likely that Konoha will prevail, we will use our forces to assist. After which Konoha will be in our debt. It all depends on the information you provide." Mei said, revealing just how ruthless she could be when it came to the safety and security of her Village as she plotted to play both sides in this upcoming war.

"Okay." Naruto nodded his mind spinning as he thought about what he should do. He could easily fake the information and make it so Kiri assisted Konoha. But by doing so he could put his Village in danger by being on the losing side. On the other hand he could do his duty, which could lead to the destruction of Konoha and the endangerment of his family.

"Are you okay?" Mei questioned in concern as she saw the confusion in Naruto's crimson eyes.

"Yeah I am fine, just thinking is all." Naruto muttered in reply.

"Will you accept the mission?" Mei said, her expression still showing her genuine concern as she kept a close eye on Naruto.

Coming to a resolution, Naruto looked up. His eyes once again gleaming with confidence.

"Yes, yes I will."

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha)**

It was raining in Konoha that day. It was suitable in a way, as it reflected the way he was feeling.

Stood in the centre of training ground Seven, Minato Namikaze looked down a memorial stone, a large slab of rock that had the names of every single Konoha Shinobi that died in the line of duty carved on it. Looking down at the stone, Minato continued his vigil. He had been standing in front of the stone for almost three hours now, uncaring of the rain that soaked through his coat and clothes as he continued to stare at the stone. His eyes flicking between three names, three names that meant a great deal to him.

Obitio Uchiha

Rin Nohara

Kakashi Hatake

These three had been his genin team, back when he was a Jonin Sensei. All three of them had died; all three of them had been killed because of Kiri.

Clenching his hand into a fist at that thought Minato fell onto one knee. Absentmindedly tracing Kakashi's name as he thought about his student, Kakashi had become almost like a son to him over the years and his loss had cut Minato deep. The last time he had felt this wretched and miserable, had been when Naruto had gone missing. In fact the loss of Kakashi had brought all that old pain to the surface; this was the second son he had lost.

Pushing himself to his feet, Minato shut his eye tight, ignoring the rain as it trickled down his face.

"Lord Hokage you summoned me?" A female voice spoke up from behind Minato, knocking him out of his thoughts.

Turning around Minato found himself face to face with an attractive purple haired woman. One who was currently clad in Shinobi gear and a Jonin Flak Jacket with a sheathed sword strapped to her back.

"Yes Yugao I did." Minato acknowledged as he gave the woman a tired smile. "I have a request to make?"

"Lord Hokage?" Yugao said as she gave him a nod of respect.

"With the loss of Kakashi and the incapacitation of young Sakura Haruno, both Sasuke Uchiha and my daughter Mito are without a full team and a Jonin Sensei." Minato said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This is why I have summoned you; I was hoping that you would be amenable to becoming the Jonin Sensei of the new Team Seven. A team made up of Mito Namikaze, Erza Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Lord Hokage, I would be honoured to take on the position. However I fear that I do not have enough experience as a teacher to properly teach Team Seven." Yugao replied a slight frown on her face.

"Yes I have already thought of that." Minato replied as he ran his hand through his soaking wet hair, pushing it away from his face. "That is why my wife, Kushina has agreed to assist you on a part time basis. At least until you feel confident enough to take on full responsibility."

"You honour me." Yugao replied, the uncertainty not quite leaving her expression.

"No, I trust you. I trust you to train and look after the future of Konoha and I know that you will be able to do a good job. The improvement Erza is showing is enough evidence of your capabilities." Minato replied.

Yugao stood a little straighter as she heard her Hokage's praise.

"Make sure you teach them well Yugao. With the chunin exam coming up there will be a lot of pressure on them to succeed." Minato replied a concerned expression on his face.

"Are they truly ready for the exam Lord Hokage?" Yugao questioned.

"I don't know." Minato replied a frown on his face. "Unfortunately though, there is a lot of expectation on them to compete. The three of them have a spotlight on them, form both Konoha and form the other Shinobi Villages. If they do not compete then it is possible that Konoha will be seen as weak. We can't afford to be seen as weak, especially after the loss of one of our Elite Jonin" Minato replied as he looked back to the memorial stone. "Besides, I don't thinking I can stop them from competing even if I tried."

"I will make sure they are safe Lord Hokage." Yugao said resolutely, understanding now why both herself and Kushina would be training the new team.

"Thank you Yugao. The chunin exam is in just over a month. You will need to train them hard, make sure they are ready!" Minato replied a stern expression on his face.

"Yes Lord Hokage!"

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere in Konoha, with the Namikaze Twins)**

A large shout echoed across the Namikaze Compounds training ground as Erza Namikaze slammed her wooden training sword into one of the practice dummies. Dancing back from the dummy, Erza shot forwards again, her stride confident and her eyes narrowed as she struck the dummy again.

A slash to the head, three jabs to the chest and a final vicious swipe to the waist, all five strikes occurring within the five seconds. Darting backwards again, a slight smile curved across Erza face as the wooden dummy exploded in a shower of splinters.

Swishing her sword through the air with practice eased, Erza prepared to attack another practice dummy. Before she could however, she was interrupted by the sound of her sister's voice.

"If you keep this up we will run out of practice dummies." Mito said as she approached her sister, her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail and her clothing consisting of a baggy t-shirt and a pair of leggings. This was in contrast to her sister Erza, who was wearing a set of finely crafted light armour, completely with a number of steel plates covering her vital points.

"Mito!" Erza said as she turned to her sister a concerned expression now on her face as she dropped her battered training sword onto the ground and turned to face her sister fully. "How are you feeling?"

"Bad." Mito replied with a tired smile. "Still feeling rough after using the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that." Erza said with a frown. "You know how dangerous Kyuubi's chakra can be, even when you are in control of it."

"What choice did I have, my comrades were in danger, how could I live with myself if my friends got hurt because I didn't give it my all?" Mito asked as she leant down and scooped up Erza's practice sword, giving it a few clumsy practice swings as she did. Kenjutsu has never been her forte, she could use kunai and Shuriken but that was about it.

Erza stared at her when she said that, unable to refute her words. "What was it like to fight for your life like that?"Erza questioned suddenly as she stared at her sister.

Mito winced at that but still replied. "It was terrifying. That guy… Grimm, he outclassed me in every way. Nothing any of us did even fazed him. And when I saw one of his chakra chains coming for me… I froze… it was like I saw my death coming. If it wasn't for Kakashi I probably would have died."

There was silence at that as they both thought about what happened to Kakashi When she had heard Erza had cried herself to sleep that night, only comforted by the fact that Mito was still alive.

"Next time you won't be scared, because next time you won't be alone. The next time we you see that guy we will fight him together." Erza said fiercely her brown eyes flashing as she looked at her sister.

Mito smiled slightly as she heard the passion in her sister voice.

"You're right. The next time I will be stronger and then we will beat him." Mito said as she handed Erza her practice sword back.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So I hope you all liked it. Decided to write this today so I hope it is good. I know some people may have some concerns about what may happen in the Chunin exams, but let me just say I have a slightly unique twist to what I have planned. Something I don't think has been done in any other story. Or at least none that I have read.**

 **Also I am now accepting pairing ideas. I have a few ideas myself abut what could be further down the line but nothing definite as of yet. Which is why I am open to ideas, as sometimes you will hear one that will get you thinking and soon enough you can almost imagine the way that character can fit seamlessly into you plot. At the moment I have three possible ideas. I will say hoover that this is not going to be a harem story as only the best of writers can make those kind of stories good and I am nowhere near that good.**

 **So yeah anyway I hope you all enjoy and that you all leave a comment or a review because I love hearing from you all.**

 **See you next time.**

 **Seagate.**

.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: SO here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. The next one should hopefully be published soon. This chapter was a bit difficult to write as I didn't want to rush it but I didn't want to put too much detail in and drag it out. Hopefully I have created a nice balance.**

 **So yeah please enjoy and leave a comment or review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _A large shout echoed across the Namikaze Compounds training ground as Erza Namikaze slammed her wooden training sword into one of the practice dummies. Dancing back from the dummy, Erza shot forwards again, her stride confident and her eyes narrowed as she struck the dummy again._

 _A slash to the head, three jabs to the chest and a final vicious swipe to the waist, all five strikes occurring within the five seconds. Darting backwards again, a slight smile curved across Erza face as the wooden dummy exploded in a shower of splinters._

 _Swishing her sword through the air with practice eased, Erza prepared to attack another practice dummy. Before she could however, she was interrupted by the sound of her sister's voice._

" _If you keep this up we will run out of practice dummies." Mito said as she approached her sister, her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail and her clothing consisting of a baggy t-shirt and a pair of leggings. This was in contrast to her sister Erza, who was wearing a set of finely crafted light armour, completely with a number of steel plates covering her vital points._

" _Mito!" Erza said as she turned to her sister a concerned expression now on her face as she dropped her battered training sword onto the ground and turned to face her sister fully. "How are you feeling?"_

" _Bad." Mito replied with a tired smile. "Still feeling rough after using the Kyuubi's chakra?"_

" _You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that." Erza said with a frown. "You know how dangerous Kyuubi's chakra can be, even when you are in control of it."_

" _What choice did I have, my comrades were in danger, how could I live with myself if my friends got hurt because_ _I didn't give it my all?" Mito asked as she leant down and scooped up Erza's practice sword, giving it a few clumsy practice swings as she did. Kenjutsu has never been her forte, she could use kunai and Shuriken but that was about it._

 _Erza stared at her when she said that, unable to refute her words. "What was it like to fight for your life like that?"Erza questioned suddenly as she stared at her sister._

 _Mito winced at that but still replied. "It was terrifying. That guy… Grimm, he outclassed me in every way. Nothing any of us did even fazed him. And when I saw one of his chakra chains coming for me… I froze… it was like I saw my death coming. If it wasn't for Kakashi I probably would have died."_

 _There was silence at that as they both thought about what happened to Kakashi When she had heard Erza had cried herself to sleep that night, only comforted by the fact that Mito was still alive._

" _Next time you won't be scared, because next time you won't be alone. The next time we you see that guy we will fight him together." Erza said fiercely her brown eyes flashing as she looked at her sister._

 _Mito smiled slightly as she heard the passion in her sister voice._

" _You're right. The next time I will be stronger and then we will beat him." Mito said as she handed Erza her practice sword back._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 14**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"So this is the genin team I have been assigned to lead is it?" Naruto said as he entered the training ground that Mei had directed him to, an unimpressed look on his face as he inspected the current occupants of the training grounds.

"You're Pain I take it, our Jounin Sensei?" One of the occupants spoke up as he looked Naruto up and down, an equally unimpressed look on his own face. "I thought you would have been taller."

The one who had spoken was a tall skin youth around the same age as Naruto. The boy had shoulder length blond hair and violet eyes. As he opened his mouth to speak, Naruto was able to see that the boy had filed his teeth to points. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he took notice of the sword strapped to the boys back, it was a pretty recognizable one as well after all it was one of the Seven Legendary Swords of the Mist, the blade known as Shibuki also known as 'the Blastsword'..

Instantly taking note of all these facts Naruto was able to come to a conclusion on just who this boy was. "Suigetsu Hozuki I take it, one of the trainee members of the new Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and also one of the last few remaining members of the Hozuki Clan?"

The now named Suigetsu grinned at that, his filed down teeth on full display as he sent the other two genin in the room a smug look. "Ha! So the big bad Pain knows who I am. I shouldn't be surprised, after all the Seven Swordsmen aren't called legendary for nothing."

Naruto gave him a bored look at that before he looked away dismissively. "I think I would have preferred your brother Mangetsu, from what I have heard he is much more skilled and not as annoying, though I suppose he is not a genin and is already a full member of the Seven Swordsmen unlike you who are still just a newbie."

The smug look instantly left Suigetsu's face as he heard that, before he could retort though Naruto had moved onto the other genin's in the room.

"Hmm." Naruto muttered to himself as he inspected the next genin who was looking nervously at him. "Blue hair, glasses and filed down teeth. A slightly nervous disposition and one of the Seven Swords of the Mist strapped on you back, I take it you are Chojuro the wielder of Hiramekarei, 'the Twinsword' and another trainee member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"E-erm yes sir." Chojuro replied nervously as he shifted uncomfortably under Naruto's red eyed gaze. "I-it will be an honour to work with you Pain, sir."

Naruto nodded curtly at that, a slight smile on his face at the boy's soft and nervous tone. The boy may appear meek, but from what Naruto had heard he was a really beast in a fight, Naruto certainly wasn't against him being on his team, nor was he really against Suigetsu. After all he like the other members of the new Seven Swordsmen was chosen for a reason, they were chosen because they all had the potential to be great.

"It will be good to work with you Chojuro." Naruto said as he reached out and shook Chojuro's hand. "Fight well and we won't have a problem."

A distinctly uncomfortable look crossed Chojuro's face at that. He had heard about Pain and had heard about just how many he and his team had killed, so much so that they had become something of a legend in their own right. He really didn't want Pain to have a problem with him.

Releasing the boy's hand Naruto turned to the last member of his genin team, though calling them genin was a bit disingenuous considering the fact that all three of them were at least high chunin to low jounin level Shinobi.

A genuine smile crossed Naruto's face as he approached the last member of his new team. The youth standing before him was around Naruto's own age, with short brown and hazel brown eyes. The boy had a large bulky build, too large for someone his age, like Naruto he had built up a lot of muscle on his frame, which was a contrast to the lean, thin physique most Shinobi went for.

"Hodan the motherfucking 'Cannonball' it's been a while!" Naruto said with a grin as he slapped the boy on the shoulder, before dragging him into a manly hug. He along with Victor and Clementine had been one of the first Outcasts his own age that he had met upon coming to KIri, back when he had clung to old man Furui like glue. Because of that and because of their similar ages they had all hung around a lot in the beginning and had regularly gone on low level missions during the war together. Unfortunately though Hodan had not become a Hunter-nin like Naruto, Clementine and Victor, his skill set after all was not the most subtle type. Instead he had remained a just a regular Shinobi, though a very destructive and enthusiastic one..

"Pain!" Hodan replied with a large smile of his own, even as he lifted Naruto up in a hug before releasing him. "How are things?"

"Bit shit at the moment old boy." Naruto replied with a shrug. "My team has been disbanded, Clementine and Victor have been put into training as new Swordsmen of the Mist and I have been given this mission. How about you? How the fuck are you still considered a genin?"

"Ha! That's great for them, bet they will be pretty awesome Swordsmen." Hodan replied with a grin, before a sheepish expression crossed his face as he heard the rest of Naruto's question. "As for why I am a genin… well… I did get promoted … but then I went on a few missions and… well you know…. there was a lot of collateral damage."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that in amusement. "You mean you got over excited and destroyed something you shouldn't, so Mei demoted you."

"Yeah." Hodan replied shiftily. "She was not very happy."

"Yeah I can believe it." Naruto chuckled with a small smile on his face. "Well I am glad to have you with me."

Hodan grinned at that.

Yes Naruto was happy with the team he had been assigned. Two trainee Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and an old comrade and war veteran, yes he was very happy with his team; they would certainly make it to the last round and would be a devastating force to have hidden within Konoha when they needed to fight. Thoguh if that was for Konoha or against was yet to be decided.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Suigetsu asked a slight scowl on his face as he saw how Naruto had been much more hospitable to the other two.

"Now?"Naruto said with a wry smile. "Now I am going to train you, and train you hard. I have a month to make sure we can all fight as a cohesive unit. So we will work on team work and combination attacks."

Chojuro nodded at that, even as Hodan shrugged nonchalantly at Naruto's words, not to fussed about the extra training, it was after all necessary. Suigetsu however frowned at that. "So what exactly is our mission then? We have been told that all we have to do is enter the Chunin Examination and make it to the final round?"

Naruto nodded at that before replying. "And that is all you need to know for now, when it becomes necessary for you to know more I will tell you. For now though you are just to make it to the final round, you will be the only genin team Kiri is sending due to reasons you will be told of later. Though I will say that when you are taking part in the exam you are not to kill anyone from the villages of Suna, Oto and Konoha, or at least not unless I tell you to."

This time all three members of the team looked confused.

"Well this sounds very dodgy." Hodan said blandly. "Ah well, we are Shinobi, cryptic missions is the norm for us."

"Yeah but I would like to know a bit more about just what we are doing taking part in some random Chunin Exam in Konoha." Suigestu said loudly, his voice slightly petulant as he demanded answers.

"And you will be told. But for now you will be kept in the dark in case you are captured and interrogated. So sack it up." Naruto said knowing as he did how annoying this would be for them. Unfortunately though the mission was an important one, if anything went wrong it could lead to fighting breaking out before Kiri was ready. So for now Naruto was going to play things close to his chest, he needed to ensure his team was safe, which for now mean he would keep certain details form them.

Hodan and Chojuro nodded at that, both of them understanding Naruto's reasoning. Suigetsu scowled but eventually accepted that Naruto had a reason, and that he would be told eventually.

"Anymore questions?" Naruto asked as he looked at the three of them. When none of them spoke up Naruto smiled. "Good, now we have under month to prepare, so let's start training."

 **( - )**

 **(Mina's Shinobi Bar a few weeks later)**

Naruto let out a tired sigh as he entered Mina's place, nodding to the white haired bar owner a she did. It was strange to think that just a few weeks ago he was in here drinking with his team, preparing for his mission to reclaim two of the Seven Swords of the Mist,; it was crazy how fast things can change in such a short amount of time.

"Oi! Shit for brains!" A voice suddenly called out from the bar.

' _Or not.'_ Naruto thought with a slight grin as he saw Clementine and Victor waiting for him by the bar. Walking over to them Naruto was able to see that neither of them had changed much, save for the Nuibari that was now sheathed at Victor's hip and the Kubikiribocho strapped on Clementine's back. Save for that they looked nearly exactly the same as before.

"Pain!" Victor said with a grin. "How things, been a while?"

Naruto blinked in surprise as he saw Victor grin, his eyes immediately going to his friends now filed down teeth, seeing them he turned to Clementine. As he did so he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her pearly whites looking exactly the same as they were before.

Turning back to Victor he replied. "They have been alright, I've been given a mission by Mei that is keeping me busy. What about you? You look… different?"

"You mean the teeth?" Victor chuckled good-naturedly his glasses flashing as he met Naruto's gaze. "Yeah it is kind of a tradition for the Seven Swordsmen to get them done, so I thought why not. Besides I can always replace them in a few years if I don't like it."

"Hmm." Naruto replied noncommittally, not really wanting to tell Victor that they looked fucking hideous. "You weren't tempted Clem?"

"Fuck no!" The blonde replied a look of horror on her face. "I mean what kind of dumb twat would do that to themselves?"

"I am sure she means no offence Vic." Naruto said diplomatically.

"No." Clementine replied her pink eyes twinkling. "I definitely meant offence."

"Lovely." Victor spoke up giving Clementine a dry look as he did. "So you got a mission from the Mizukage?"

"Yeah" Naruto said. "Pretty big too, don't think I can say much about it."

"Has it got anything to do with the Chunin Exams in Konoha?" Victor asked.

Naruto immediately tensed at that. "Why do you ask?"

"Probably because me and Victor have been added to the Mizukage's protection detail for when she goes to Konoha." Clementine spoke up with a shrug. "The fact you are not on it tells me that you will probably be in Konoha as well, only doing something else. After all you are one of Mei's most trusted Shinobi and would definitely have been added to her protection detail if you were available."

Naruto let out a sigh at that. There was not a leak; they were just making an educated guess on what information they had access to. "Well you will just have to wait and see won't you."

"Tease." Clementine said in response a grin once again on her face.

"So enough about me, how's training?" Naruto asked as he decided to change the topic of the conversation, as he did so he also waved the bartender over and asked for the usual, a cheap and rough tasting whiskey.

"Good." Clementine said with a shrug. "At the moment it is just getting used to our swords and practicing the most simple of techniques that can be used. The Kubikiribocho is pretty straight forward, it is just a big ass sword, with the handy ability of being able to fix itself by absorbing the iron in blood."

"Sounds like the sword is more bloodthirsty than you." Naruto replied with a chuckle.

"Well I wouldn't go that far." Clementine replied a vicious smile now on her face. "Though Victor is pretty much a natural with his sword. Old patchwork over there seems to be a master of using that oversized needle."

Victor looked down at his needle like sword, the Nuibari with a fond expression on his face. "Yeah she is a really beauty."

"So do you know what you will be doing after your training is over?" Naruto asked.

"Hopefully we'll be put back on a team with you. I think the Mizukage is quite keen for us to track down Samehada the last missing sword. After that we will just be going on assassination and hunting missions. Same as before I am guessing." Clementine replied with a shrug. "I reckon we were only made Swordsmen to keep us busy until the heat died down on you, you know after you killed Kakashi and got a massive bounty on our heads."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that.

"Well you can't be surprised; we were a pretty awesome team." Victor added in with a grin, banging his fist on the bar as he did so.

"Fuck yeah!" Naruto shouted loudly as the he grabbed the tumbler of whiskey the barkeep had just placed in front of him. "To Team Ghoul!"

"To Team Ghoul!" The other two chorused as they clinked their glasses.

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha with Team 7)**

The ringing of steel clashing against steel could be heard throughout training ground seven, as two similar looking red heads clashed. Letting out a shout one of the red headed girl, this one wearing light armour and having unbound hair, leapt forward a golden sword made out of pure chakra held in her hand.

The other girl, who was wearing a tight fitting battle dress, her crimson hair tied up into a tight ponytail scowled as she saw the other charge. Flicking her hands forward she sent two kunai flying at the other girl.

Erza, the sword wielding girl nimbly dodged both kunai, her pace not even slowing as she closed in on her sister Mito. Held in her hand was a blade of chakra, made in a similar way to how she made her Uzumaki Chakra Chains. This sword like the other weapons Erza could make out of her chakra was as sharp as a wind ninjutsu and had the added side effect of temporarily disrupting the chakra of anyone it cuts; it was a handy ability to be sure. Swinging her blade at Mito, Erza didn't hold anything back.

Seeing her sister still coming at her, Mito began to elegantly dodge and dance around the increasingly fast strikes her sister was launching at her. As she dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged she kept her eyes sharp, patiently waiting for any chance she could to counter attack.

Mito's eyes suddenly sharpened; as she saw her sister slightly over extend one of her lunges. Darting forward Mito raised her hand, revealing the faintly glowing black seal that had been inked onto it. Closing the distance Mito had to dodge as Erza pivoted on the spot, swinging her blade round to bear on Mito as she did. Mito ducked low and allowed the blade to pass harmlessly over her, the golden blade cutting a few loose strands of red hair from Mito's head as it passed.

Mito thrust her hand up, the palm of her hand slapping against the flat of Erza's blade. With a cracking sound the Fuuinjutsu seal Mito had inked onto her hand activated. Erza's blade shattered even as the residual chakra was greedily absorbed by Mito's seal. Mito didn't even batter an eyelash at this, as she instead tried to sweep her sister's legs with a low sweeping kick.

Erza wasn't taken by surprise however, as she jumped into the air, leaping over the kick and putting a few metres distance between the two of them. The moment her feet touched the ground she was moving again, two thin, four foot long golden spears appearing in her hands, as she used her unique Uzumaki bloodline to forge the two projectiles. Twirling the two spears in her hand she launched them both at Mito, before she shot forwards again, a pair of blades now in her hands as she tried to attack while Mito off guard.

Seeing the two spears coming, Mito channeled chakra through her body and into the palms of her hand. Twisting her body, Mito avoided both of the spears with ease, her hands already moving to slap her palms against them and destroy and absorb them as they passed. She manage to hit one of them, but not the other, the other spear instead struck and blew through four layers of trees in the forest behind Mito.

Seeing her sister charging once again, Mito went through three hand seals before she slammed her hands on the ground, using the excess chakra she had just absorbed to bolster her jutsu. **"Wind Release: Wind Palm!"**

Air exploded from Mito's palms and then into the ground as she did this. Dust soon filled the air as the ground in front of Mito cracked and crumbled, with dust and dirt exploding out of the cracks and into the surrounding area.

Undeterred by the cloud of dust now covering the training ground, Erza continued forward both her blades held at the ready.

"Enough." A stern voice echoed across the field. This voice was soon followed by a powerful wind jutsu that blew away the dust, revealing Erza and Mito standing inches away from each other, both of them staring calmly at each other. The blade in Erza's right hand was at Mito's throat, even as the blade in her left had been shattered by Mito's left hand. The kunai in Mito's right hand however was hovering inches away from Erza's chest, positioned just over where the heart was.

Both of the girl's were panting as they stared each other down, taking note of the position they were in. without a word they backed off from each other, the two of the nodding to the other respectfully as they did so.

"You fought well." Erza said with a respectful nod to her sister.

"Back at you sis." Mito replied with a grin. "We are going to crush the Chunin Exams."

"Yes, we will bring honour to both Konoha and to the memory of Kakashi." Erza replied sternly.

Mito's smile dipped at that, before she nodded. "Yeah, we'll do him proud."

"Yes, I am sure you both will." Yugao said proudly as she approached the duo, Sasuke following behind her, his eyes wide as he looked from one girl to another, the Sharingan in his eyes spinning fast as he committed the fight he had just seen to memory.

"Those other genin are not going to know what hit them!" Kushina Uzumaki said as she made her presence known a large grin on her face, her violet eyes twinkling as she looked fondly down at both of her daughters. "Team Seven is going to dominate the competition this year!"

Both of the girls grinned as they saw their mother's enthusiasm, the joy of Kushina Uzumkai really was contagious.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto and Team Pain at the gates of Konoha)**

Naruto let out a sigh as he caught site of Konoha's gates for the first time in three years. It was strange really to think just how much he had changed from the frail and scared child he had been when he had fled to the strong and resilient person he was today.

Approaching the gate Naruto felt a sliver of nervousness rise up in him as he vaguely recognized the two gate guards. His nervousness was due to his worry over whether he would be recognized, he shouldn't be,after all he had changed a lot in the last three years. He had gained at least four stone of muscle and a foot of height, he also looked a lot healthier than he had been when he left. On top of that he no longer had blue eyes, instead he had his black sclera and crimson irises, having embraced who he was he saw no point in trying to hide them.

So all in all he looked very different from before, though to add to his changes he was also wearing a Shinobi half mask that covered his lower face. Plus he also had a Mist Shinobi headguard in clear view, resting snugly on his forehead.

Some may question why he was being so paranoid, after all he had once called this place home and he didn't have anything against the place or the people inside. But for Naruto the reason he did not want to be recognized is that it would interfere with his mission, and bring complications to his life that he was just not ready or willing to deal with yet.

Approaching the gates his three genin walking behind him, all three of them naturally slightly wary as they queued to enter the neutral Shinobi Village of Konohagakure.

Naturally, the group of obviously Kiri Shinobi were stopped at the gate by the bored looking pair of guards, after all the guards wouldn't have been doing their jobs had they not halted a group of dangerous foreigners hoping to enter their Village..

"We're here for the Chunin Exams." Naruto said pleasantly as he eyed both the Chunin, once again he knew he recognized them, but could just not for the life of him recall their names, it appeared by his silence that You did not remember either. Though knowing his alternate self he might just not care, he was an odd one at the best of times.

"Alright you're the thirteenth group today. I'll just need your Jounin instructor to sign you in?" The guard said as he looked the group over, a clip board in his hand, one that had the names and pictures of all the foreign genin teams entering the Chunin Exams this year on it.

Naruto rolled his eyes at that before coughing politely in his hand. "That would be me. Jounin Pain of Kirigakure, the Jounin Sensei for Team One."

The man with the clipboards' eyes widened slightly at that. But he quickly shrugged it off after all a teenage Jounin was not that shocking. It was a bit irritating considering he was in his mid to late twenties and was still a Chunin. But sometimes the world worked like that. Scanning down the list, he quickly found Pain's name as well as his team, all of whom matched the pictures that had been sent through to Konoha by the Mizukage.

Ok I have you on the list, and you have been booked into a hotel along the southern border of Konoha, just walk down this street and keep going until you reach the mountain wall, your hotel will be along that stretch. Give your name at the hotel's reception and they will sort you out from there, some instructions for what you need to do next will be sent to your room later this evening." The guard said as he directed Naruto and his group to where their hotel was. "I have to say though, I am surprised. You are the only team from Kiri booked in this year?"

Naruto shrugged at that before reply. "The crop of genin this year has been disappointing. From what I heard the Mizukage held a load of them back as she did not deem them ready to take the Chunin Exam this year."

"Tough break" one of the gate guards said. "Guess this means there will be loads of Kiri genin at the next Chunin Exams?"

"Wouldn't surprise me." Naruto replied with anther shrug, even as he led his team through the gate and into Konoha. A slight smile on his face as he once again found himself in the village he grew up in, even as he looked up and saw the face of his father looking down at him from the Hokage monument.

 **( - )**

 **AN: And so Naruto is back in Konoha. Hope you all liked this chapter it is more of a starter chapter for the upcoming arc.**

 **As always please leave a comment or a review I love hearing from you and I do take your comments into account when writing the next chapter. If anyone has any specific questions Pm and I will try and answer them as quickly as I can.**

 **By the way someone asked me where Clementine came from. If you want to know look up Clementine from Overlord, that is the basis of my character. Though I have changed bits and pieces about her.**

 **See you all next time. Next chapter should be out soon.**

 **Seagate.**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Here is the next chapter of Dead Man Walking. Sorry for the wait have been mainly updating my Harry Potter stories. But I am back now with a chapter for you. Hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"We're here for the Chunin Exams." Naruto said pleasantly as he eyed both the Chunin, once again he knew he recognized them, but could just not for the life of him recall their names, it appeared by his silence that You did not remember either. Though knowing his alternate self he might just not care, he was an odd one at the best of times._

 _"Alright you're the thirteenth group today. I'll just need your Jounin instructor to sign you in?" The guard said as he looked the group over, a clip board in his hand, one that had the names and pictures of all the foreign genin teams entering the Chunin Exams this year on it._

 _Naruto rolled his eyes at that before coughing politely in his hand. "That would be me. Jounin Pain of Kirigakure, the Jounin Sensei for Team One."_

 _The man with the clipboards' eyes widened slightly at that. But he quickly shrugged it off after all a teenage Jounin was not that shocking. It was a bit irritating considering he was in his mid to late twenties and was still a Chunin. But sometimes the world worked like that. Scanning down the list, he quickly found Pain's name as well as his team, all of whom matched the pictures that had been sent through to Konoha by the Mizukage._

 _Ok I have you on the list, and you have been booked into a hotel along the southern border of Konoha, just walk down this street and keep going until you reach the mountain wall, your hotel will be along that stretch. Give your name at the hotel's reception and they will sort you out from there, some instructions for what you need to do next will be sent to your room later this evening." The guard said as he directed Naruto and his group to where their hotel was. "I have to say though, I am surprised. You are the only team from Kiri booked in this year?"_

 _Naruto shrugged at that before reply. "The crop of genin this year has been disappointing. From what I heard the Mizukage held a load of them back as she did not deem them ready to take the Chunin Exam this year."_

" _Tough break" one of the gate guards said. "Guess this means there will be loads of Kiri genin at the next Chunin Exams?"_

" _Wouldn't surprise me." Naruto replied with anther shrug, even as he led his team through the gate and into Konoha. A slight smile on his face as he once again found himself in the village he grew up in, even as he looked up and saw the face of his father looking down at him from the Hokage monument._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 15**

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha with Naruto)**

Entering the hotel room Naruto had a look round in disappointment; it looked like they would all be sharing. The room was very Spartan, with four single beds lining the walls, and two cupboards. Looking over to his team Naruto came to a decision. "You lot make yourselves comfortable, and get ready for tomorrow. The first stage will be taking place in the Shinobi Academy. No doubt this portion of the test will be a trick, keep on your toes and make sure you pass."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes at that before saying. "I think we can manage to get through an Exam that is made for genin."

"Good, because if I thought you weren't capable then I wouldn't have brought you." Naruto replied bluntly. "You lot can have a look around Konoha if you want, but make sure you behave. I don't want us to be kicked out of Konoha before the match even starts because one of you was fucking about."

The three 'genin' nodded at that. Suigetsu though looked a bit rebellious. "Why what happens if that happens? We don't get to become Chunin?" He asked mockingly.

"No, if you do fuck up and get us kicked out, you'll have made us fail our very important mission. For which I will hurt you." Naruto replied bluntly "A lot."

Both Chojuro and Suigetsu laughed at that, thinking Naruto was joking.

Hodan though paled slightly, the Pain he knew did not make idle threats.

Naruto's eyes narrowed fractionally as he heard two of them laughing, but for now he decided to leave it. He had given them a warning; if they chose to ignore it then it was their own faults what happened. Thinking about it though, a swift death courtesy of Naruto was much better than a slow painful death courtesy of Mei. The stakes were too high for small measures, he only wished he could tell them just how important their mission was, unfortunately though, the risk was too high.

"So what will you be doing?" Hodan asked cautiously.

"Me, I will be having a look around the Village. I will be back later, and remember don't fuck up." Naruto replied as he turned to leave the room. Allowing the three 'genin' to unpack their belongings and settle into their new room. Naruto didn't need to do any of that, he had all of his belongings sealed in a scroll that was hidden in one of the pockets of his flak jacket. Just before leaving though, Naruto paused as he decided to say one more thing. "Also, try to keep a low profile while we are in Konoha."

 **( - )**

Ten minutes later after leaving the hotel room, Naruto had quickly familiarized himself with his old stomping grounds. He had quickly found the main road running through Konoha, alongside which multiple stalls, stores and restaurants were lined. All of which seemed to be flourishing, no doubt having a shop in one of the largest and wealthiest Shinobi Villages was good for business. Deciding to take advantage of the nearby stores, Naruto bought himself some food.

Slipping into a Ramen joint he remembered being to before, Naruto seated himself at the counter. Deciding to patiently waiting for the waitress, a pretty brunette only a few years older than him, to serve him. As he sat there waiting he became aware of someone else approaching the stand. Looking sideways, Naruto had to hold in a slight gasp as a beautiful red haired woman sat on the seat one over from him. His eyes widened even further when he saw the red haired woman had a young child in her arms, a little girl with golden blonde hair and crystal blue eyes.

Naruto felt his mouth go dry as he saw his mother for the first time in three years.

"How can I help you today sir?" A soft voice spoke out, quickly getting Naruto attention as he tore his gaze way from his mother and instead looked to the waitress, whose name was apparently Ayame according to her name badge.

"Oh… erm… yes can I get a bowl of Miso Ramen please." Naruto said licking his lips nervously a she did so; he could see that he had caught the attention of Kushina, the red haired woman having turned in her seat slightly to look at him.

"Right away sir shouldn't be too long." Ayame chirped back a smile on her face as she accepted the money Naruto gave her.

"So I take it you are here for the Chunin Exams?" Kushina suddenly spoke up.

Looking sideways, Naruto's crimson eyes fixed on Kushina. Noting as he did so that his mother looked older than he had last seen her, her eyes were sadder than he remembered. But despite that she was smiling at him, even as she was holding what appeared to be her daughter close to her. Naruto had not even been aware he had a new sister, but then again if you run away from home it is unlikely that you would be able to get regular updates on the family.

"Err yeah." Naruto replied awkwardly.

Kushina seemed to smile sympathetically at him. "Must be strange fro you being in an unfamiliar Village, I bet Konoha are a lot different to Kiri."

"It is certainly a lot dryer." Naruto replied lamely, not really sure what he should do.

Kushina chuckled at that before saying. "My name is Kushina by the way, and this little bundle of joy is Naruko." As she said that she cuddled her three year old daughter to her, causing the little girl to let out a cute giggle.

' _Naruko?'_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked at the little girl. Tearing his eyes away from the girl he looked back up to Kushina, not entirely sure what he should say next. Should he tell his name is Naruto and see what happens next?

"Nice to meet you Kushina, my name is Pain." Naruto replied. The mission comes first; anything else is just a complication that should be avoided when possible.

"Pain?" Kushina asked with a slight smile. "I am guessing that was not the name your mother gave me."

Naruto shrugged at that before replying. "It was a name I gave myself when I was much younger, it kind of just stuck."

"Must be a bit of a pain." Kushina replied amused.

Naruto snorted as he heard Kushina's pun, before he rolled his eyes. "You know, that is actually the first time someone has done that."

Kushina looked aghast at that before replying. "Do they not have any senses of humour in Kiri?"

"Oh they do," Naruto replied with a faint smile under his half mask. "But the jokes aren't quite as painful."

Kushina snorted loudly at that, even as little Naruko in her arms started giggling.

"One Miso Ramen." Ayame the waitress said as she placed the bowl down in front of Naruto.

"Thanks." Naruto replied before asking. "Can I also get two fingers of whiskey to wash it down?"

Ayame frowned at that. "Are you sure you are old enough? Only Chunin Shinobi and above are allowed to drink if they are underage."

Naruto looked amused at that before replying. "It's a good thing I am a Jounin then." With that he took out a Kiri identity card.

Ayame looked surprised at that, but shook off her surprise as she went to get Naruto his requested drink.

"So you're a Jounin Sensei, I did not see that coming." Kushina said as she looked at Naruto with a frown. The boy looked only a year or two older than Erza and Mito, far too young to be a Jounin. Then again there were some Shinobi, like Itchai Uchiha and Kakashi who were so skilled they were promoted young, but Shinobi like those were often well known.

Naruto shrugged at that. "We are Shinobi; you always have to expect the unexpected."

Kushina smiled as she heard that, her eyes glazing over as if she were remembering something. "You know that line of yours reminds me of something a family friend used to say. He always used to say that 'you must always look underneath the underneath.'"

"Wise words" Naruto said with a nod, before a frown crossed over his face as he tried to work out which family friend she was talking about. "So who said that? Is it anyone I would know?"

Kushina sigh sadly at that before giving the pale skinned boy next to her a faint smile. "You probably will have heard of him, he was pretty famous, Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto hid a cringe at that, he knew the man, and he had in fact met him, and then killed him.

"Unfortunately he died recently, out on a mission in Wave." Kushina continued a sad expression still on her face as she hugged Naruko to her, the blonde bundle of joy having become quiet, no doubt having sensed her mothers mood.

"Come with being a Shinobi." Naruto replied as he took a small glass of whiskey of Ayame with a smile. "We have dangerous professions, and when on the field we are constantly dancing with death. Sometimes we win and sometime we lose."

"How old are you again?" Kushina replied dryly as she heard Naruto's cynical statement, before she let out another sigh, not expecting a reply. "I understand why he died, and so does my husband, he was on a mission and he got in a fight with some other Shinobi. It doesn't dull the pain of loss though, nor does understanding why something happened make it alright."

Naruto took a large gulp of whiskey at that, even as he thought back to his fight with Kakashi. The man was certainly strong and skilled, so much so that Naruto doubted he would have been able to prevail had it not been for his abilities. Even so though Kakashi had gone into the fight knowing he might die, just as Naruto had, this was why he felt no guilt when he looked back. The Shinobi world was sometimes kill or be killed, that was a fact.

"Old enough to know how the world works." Naruto replied with a shrug, once again taking a drink of his whiskey, enjoying the burning feeling of the spirit as it travelled down his throat.

"You've seen war haven't you? I can tell that much, I am going to guess you fought in the Kiri Rebellion?"Kushina asked her tone somber as she looked at Naruto thoughtfully, her eyes trailing over the numerous small crisscrossing scars he had on his arms and hands.

"Aye" Naruto replied with a shrug. "I was originally a member of the Outcasts, we were always in the thick of the fighting, even Shinobi like me who were only supposed to be acting as support at the time. I saw my fair share of fighting, enough to know that anything can happen in a fight."

A sad expression crossed Kushina's face as she saw how jaded this boy was, a boy who was probably only little older than her son would have been. It was sad, but Kushina also knew that with an attitude like his he would be able to survive the Shinobi world. All too often she saw idealistic genin who thought being a Shinobi was all about saving princess and suing flashy jutsu, it was those kind of kids who either gave up being a Shinobi or died early.

"So on a lighter note" Naruto began deciding to change the subject, the faint smile on Kushina's face told him that she appreciated it. "Have you got any genin sitting the exam?"

Kushina smiled at that, before confidently stating. "I have a team entering and they are going to crush the competition."

"Those sound like fighting words to me?" Naruto replied challengingly. "How about a bet?"

"Name it." Kushina replied confidently.

"If the entire of my team, Team One makes it to the finals and not all of your team does, then you have to buy me as much Ramen as I can eat." Naruto said with a smile, deciding to get into the swing of things now. "And the same goes for you."

"Oh you poor, poor boy." Kushina replied as she shook her head solemnly, even as Ayame placed her usual order on the table before her. Her usual order consisted of six bowls of Ramen, to start. "You don't know what you are getting into."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the sheer amount of food in front of his mother, he had forgotten just how much she was able to eat.

 **( - )**

It was half an hour later and Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha, his stomach full of a pleasant mixture of ramen and whiskey. His conversation with Kushina had been quite pleasant, he hadn't revealed himself to be her long lost son, but nor had he scorned and avoided her. Instead he had engaged her in a rather pleasant conversation, something that wasn't usual between two different Shinobi from different Villages. From speaking to Kushina he had learnt that she did not blame Kiri for Kakashi's death, she certainly blamed Grimm but it appeared she had cooled down slightly since she had first heard. She was still obviously upset about it though, there was no mistaking that.

For the most part Naruto had been quite vague when talking, he told her a few amusing stories from his time as a young Shinobi during the war, to which she shared some of her earlier experiences as a Shinobi. What they discussed was completely harmless, and had nothing to do with secrets from the others Village, no doubt if that topic of conversation had come up, they would both find an excuse to break off the conversation as quickly as possible.

Now though Naruto decided it was time to get to work, he hadn't come to Konoha for a holiday after all. He had come to assess the Shinobi forces of Konoha, Suna and Oto and to find out more about the Otokage's plan and Konoha's defenses. Speaking to the Hokage's wife about mundane things was not getting the job done. This was why Naruto was currently walking down Konoha's main thoroughfare, keeping an eye on all the foreign and native Shinobi wandering around, mentally noting own the numbers as he did so. Besides which he had also borrow (stolen) a copy of the gate guards list on foreign Shinobi coming into the Village for the Chunin Exams.

Now someone might ask why he was just walking out in the open and not sneaking around and spying. Well he had a reason for that and that reason were the dozens of well concealed Konoha ANBU that were on the roof tops keeping an eye on all the foreign Shinobi as they walked around Konoha. Sometimes the best way to spy on people, is by going about things like you would on any other day, trying to hide yourself would only draw attention to yourself

As he was walking down the street Naruto heard some loud commotion coming from the end of the street next to him. Turning to see what could have caused such a disturbance in a relatively crowded public place, he soon found his feet leading him in that direction. The cause of the disturbance appeared to be Naruto's own sisters; both Erza and Mito were currently taking turns shouting at another pair of Shinobi. As he approached Naruto looked closely at Erza, it had been three years since he had last seen her, and like Mito she had grown up. She was taller and more mature now, her unbound red hair falling to her waist, and her body clad in light body armour. At her side was a sheathed sword, though Naruto knew from memory that she did not really need it.

Standing beside her was Mito, the girl had surprisingly changed from the last time he saw her over a month ago, she held herself differently, she stood stronger and more confidently. But more than that he could see that she had Fuuinjutsu script now running down her arms and hands, Naruto himself was quite adept at Fuuinjutsu, Mei having given him access to the knowledge Kiri had managed to salvage from Uzu after Iwa and Kumo invaded it. Even so though, he knew he was no master of the art, just as he knew just by looking hat Mito's Fuuinjutsu script was much better than his own which he had tattooed on his wrists.

Tearing his eyes away from his sisters, Naruto instead glanced at the other people in the street, curious to see who would pick a fight with the Hokage's daughters in the middle of Konoha. One of the other people in the street arguing with Naruto's siblings and contributing to all of the noise was a Shinobi from Suna who was wearing what looked to be a full body suit that had cat ears. The 'boy?' it appeared was also wearing thick and clown-like makeup and had something on his back. Standing besides the boy wearing makeup was a pretty girl around Naruto's own age; she had a large iron fan strapped to her back. She had a purple clothing garment that went down halfway to her thighs and her blonde hair was fashioned into four ponytails.

To complete the scene of utter chaos that was in front of him, Naruto was able recognize the little boy that was hiding behind his sister Erza's legs, a scared expression on his face as Konohamaru Sarutobi.

Naruto slowed his approach as he took all this in; he was able to recognize the two Suna Shinobi. They were Temari and Kankaro, the two elder children of the Kazakage. He had seen that these two Shinobi were registered to be taking part, as to, was their younger brother, Gaara, who also happened to be the Jinchurriki of the One Tailed Beast. It had not taken Kiri's intelligence agents to work out that little nugget of information, and the fact that such a volatile and unpredictable Shinobi had been brought to Konoha brought up a lot of questions. Naruto had already begun to suspect that Suna's prime weapon had been brought to Konoha for the invasion, meaning that the boy might be a lynch pin upon which the invasion relies.

Concentrating Naruto could also find the faint signs of five other people, all of whom were watching the spectacle, suppressing their chakra as they did so. Four of these were genin, but the fifth was more powerful, no doubt he was an ANBU noting down what he saw and preparing to step in if necessary.

Speaking of the brother Naruto was quickly able to track the powerful Bijuu soul he held in his body, allowing him to find the boy. Who at that moment was currently hanging just out of sight from a nearby tree branch, his eyes fixed on the ongoing argument.

"Listen here, the brat ran into me and almost knocked me on my ass. As such I think it is only justified that I teach the Konoha brat here some manners!" Kankuro shouted his face flushed from anger and embarrassment as he glared at the cowering form of the boy who had caught him by surprise.

"Kankuro just let it go. We don't need to go causing any trouble here in a foreign village." Temari said as she noticed that people had begun to take notice of the loud ongoing argument, and so tried to get her brother to cool down and see reason, before something unfortunate happened. They could not afford for anything to go wrong, not at this point, the future of their Village may rest on this.

"I refuse to allow you to hurt the boy. He is a member of Konoha and so is under my protection." Erza replied resolutely, as she glared down at Kankuro, refusing to move or be intimidated. "If you lay a hand on the boy I will cut it off." She added in dangerously, her hand resting on the handle of her sword as she did so.

Temari's eyes became flinty as she heard the threat to her brother, her hands now inching towards her large battle fan as she cautiously eyed Erza. "Don't threaten my brother, if you do I will have to get involved, and you wouldn't like it if that happened."

"It was not a threat" Erza said coolly, her frost glare now on Temari. "It was a promise."

"You arrogant bitch, you really don't know who you are messing with do you!" Kankuro snarled back, his anger only fanned by the girl's threats.

"Don't call my sister a bitch you ugly, butch old hag!" Mito interrupted her fingers twitching even as she gave both Temari and Kankuro a dangerous look.

"I am not a fucking girl!" Kankuro snapped back, stamping his foot on the floor as he did so.

"You could have fooled me!" Erza spoke up again before she looked over at Temari. "Try and keep your sister under control."

"I will if you do." Temari replied, her lips twitching slightly, despite the tension.

"Fuck off! I am not a fucking woman!" Kankuro shouted again.

An amused Naruto decided to make his presence known at that moment. "Could you girls all keep the noise down, I am trying to enjoy a pleasant stroll through Konoha here."

"I am not a fuc…" Kankuro began as he spun to snap at Naruto before his eyes widened, as he saw the speaker standing straight in front of him. The boy had moved so fast he had blinked and missed it.

"Who are you?" Temari spoke up cautiously as she looked at the odd boy in front of her. He was around her height, with short hair that looked distinctly grey and intense powerful eyes, that looked entirely too unnatural. He was a stocky boy, with wide muscled shoulders, and thick arms. As she inspected him she also took not of the flak jacket he was wearing, and the Kiri headband. Flak jackets were only usually worn by Chunin and Jounin, and since he was foreign to the Village, it was likely that he was here for the Chunin Exams, but not as a genin, which could only mean he was a Jounin.

"The name is Pain. And you all really should be civil, especially with the Chunin Exams about to start, I am sure there will be plenty of time for you to fight in the different tests." Naruto replied with a shrug, as he expected neither of his sisters had heard of his name. He was however surprised by the recognition he saw on the faces of Temari and Kankuro.

"You're Pain?" Temari said cautiously.

"That is what I said, so why don't you two be on your way and go back to your hotel, it is a big day tomorrow after all. We don't want you getting crippled before you can start." Naruto said not so subtle telling the two Suna Shinobi to 'fuck off'. "As for you two, don't you think the Hokage's daughters have better things to do than pick a fight with the Kazakage's children?"

Mito looked a little contrite at that, Erza however just gave Naruto a level look.

"Are you saying that we should not act to defend one of our own, when we are in our own Village?" Erza question sharply, a she hazel eyes met Naruto's crimson, the girl not even blinking as she did so. "Besides who do you think you are to tell Konoha Shinobi what to do in their own Village?"

"Someone who is not acting like a hot-tempered moron." Naruto replied blandly as she looked away from Erza, knowing as he did that his dismissal would annoy her more than his words, she might have matured in her appearance but he could still read his sister like a book.

Turning back around, Naruto was unsurprised to see another Suna Shinobi was standing with his brother and sister, an emotionless look on his face as he stared at Naruto, the boy had red hair, dark circles around his eyes and the kanji for love tattooed over his eye.

"My name is Gaara Sabaku. Who are you?" The red head carrying a gourd on his back asked his expression not changing as he looked at the two red haired girls behind the boy, before dismissing them as no threat as he instead focused in on the boy in front of him. He made mother nervous, and mother did not like being nervous, mother claimed there was something both familiar and unnatural about him. Something Gaara should either avoid or destroy.

Naruto stared indifferently at Gaara, uncaring of the growing killing intent that leaked from him. Instead Naruto was more interested to see the looks of fear on Temari and Kankuro's faces. It appeared the Intel he had read was right, the boy was uncontrollable and feared by even his own siblings. Why then was he here, unless it had something to do with the invasion. It was confirmed as far as Naruto was concerned, and he would be adding it into his report back to Mei. He already had a plan beginning to take form in his mind, but first he needed more information.

"Well dumbass if you had listened before you would have heard. The name is Pain, a Jounin from Kiri and I suggest that you three head back to your hotel room, now." Naruto said a distinctly annoyed expression on his face at having to repeat himself.

Both Temari and Kankuro tensed and looked fearfully at Gaara when they heard Naruto's insult. The red haired boy however didn't say anything, as he instead continued to stare at Naruto and let out small amounts of Killing Intent.

"Temari, Kankuro we are going to meet Baki." Gaara suddenly spoke, his voice quiet and toneless as he stared at his two elder siblings, both of whom complied without hesitation. Turning on the spot, Gaara gave Naruto one last searching look before he vanished in a swirl of sand, both Temari and Kankuro disappearing in their own Shushins as they followed him. Before they left however, Temari sent Naruto a speculative and cautious look, a look that Naruto returned with a slight scowl.

As the Suna Shinobi vacated the area, this left Naruto alone with his sisters, Konohamaru and the people spying on them.

"You might as well come out of hiding." Naruto said bluntly as he looked around the area. His eyes fixing on where the four genin were hiding, he decided not to call out the ANBU, as not only would he reveal himself, but it might raise red flags about Naruto himself.

Erza look at Naruto in confusion at that. "And what do you mean by that… Pain… none of us are hiding."

Mito replied to her before Naruto could. "He is talking about the people who are spying on us."

"A sensor?" Naruto guessed, a smile on his face, not that they would be able to see it through the half mask he was wearing.

Mito grinned at that, before nodding. For some reason this person was very familiar to her, whether this was for a positive reason or a negative she wasn't sure yet. But considering he had just helped them, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Naruto's smile soon turned to a frown as he sensed three of their watchers disappearing. The three genin level Shinobi quickly disappearing from the scene. It was irritating but not overly so, Naruto knew their souls, and he would be able to find them again. This is just what he planned on doing, after all what bet way to get information than interrogating a spy, even if they were no doubt genin spying on the competition. You never knew what little nuggets of information you would be able to find.

The other spy revealed himself to be Sasuke Uchiha, who appeared besides his teammates in a blur of motion. His dark eyes fixed suspiciously on Naruto.

"How is someone so young a Jounin?" Sasuke asked straight away, not caring about introductions as he instead decided he wanted to find out just how someone around his own age was already a Jounin, whilst he a prodigy was still a genin.

"Because I am just that good" Naruto replied, it might sound arrogant, but it was true, the reason he was a Jounin was because he was far too skilled and powerful to be a genin.

Sasuke sneered at that. "Would you like to prove it then? Why don't you fight me and we will see just how good you are?"

Naruto didn't rise to the bait, as he dismissed Sasuke with a simple. "You wouldn't stand a chance." Before he turned to leave, he did still have a job to do after all, he couldn't keep spending time catching up with family.

Before he could leave though, he was stopped by Erza calling out to him, a strange look on her face as she looked at him critically. "Wait a second."

Naruto turned to look at her at this, his crimson eyes locking with hers as he gave her a curious look.

"Have we met before?" Erza asked as she kept her eyes locked on Naruto. "There is something about you… it feels very familiar. Almost like a long forgotten dream."

"DO you really thing you would forget someone like me?" Naruto asked in amusement. "A former Outcast and now a proud Jounin of Kirigakure?"

Erza gained a thoughtful look at that, not at all bothered by his revealing he was an Outcast. Some Shinobi may still look down on them, even now most of them had settled in Kiri. But she, her sisters and her brother were raised to be tolerant and decent people. "There is still something about you though."

Naruto smiled faintly at that, even as he once again turned to leave. "Well maybe you will just have to wait and see."

Erza and Mito gave him confused and curious looks at his cryptic answer as he left, the two of them deciding that they would try and find out more about the enigmatic Pain over the course of the Chunin Exams.

Sasuke however was incensed that he was so easily ignored and dismissed. "Hey you fight me? Or are you too scared? Is that why you are running away, because you have heard of the Uchiha and are terrified to face one!? Come on coward fight me!"

Naruto just ignored him though as he left, knowing as he did that that would annoy and humiliate the Uchiha more than words ever could. The boy was still that just a boy, one who seemed to need constant validation. Naruto's sisters however, they were both much more complex and confusing than the Uchiha brat. Naruto was already looking forward to seeing how they would do in the Chunin Exams. He had a job to do, but he was not going to let it stop him from enjoying himself.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So I hope you all like it. The Chunin exams start next chapter and Naruto will be much more active. Things will begin to take their course for a unique (I think) take on the Chunin exam ending. We will also see a bit more of Naruto's sisters as I want to develop them more.**

 **Will see you all next time for what will hopefully be a very good chapter. Please leave a comment and a review. I try to reply to as many as I can but I am not always able to reply to all of them. If you have a question it is best to PM me as I will always respond to those. Unless I forget, which occasionally happens. So I might check now to see.**

 **See you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: So here is the next chapter of Dead Man Walking, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a comment or a review at the bottom.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Before he could leave though, he was stopped by Erza calling out to him, a strange look on her face as she looked at him critically. "Wait a second."_

 _Naruto turned to look at her at this, his crimson eyes locking with hers as he gave her a curious look._

" _Have we met before?" Erza asked as she kept her eyes locked on Naruto. "There is something about you… it feels very familiar. Almost like a long forgotten dream."_

" _DO you really think you would forget someone like me?" Naruto asked in amusement. "A former Outcast and now a proud Jounin of Kirigakure?"_

 _Erza gained a thoughtful look at that, not at all bothered by his revealing he was an Outcast. Some Shinobi may still look down on them, even now most of them had settled in Kiri. But she, her sisters and her brother were raised to be tolerant and decent people. "There is still something about you though."_

 _Naruto smiled faintly at that, even as he once again turned to leave. "Well maybe you will just have to wait and see."_

 _Erza and Mito gave him confused and curious looks at his cryptic answer as he left, the two of them deciding that they would try and find out more about the enigmatic Pain over the course of the Chunin Exams._

 _Sasuke however was incensed that he was so easily ignored and dismissed. "Hey you fight me? Or are you too scared? Is that why you are running away, because you have heard of the Uchiha and are terrified to face one!? Come on coward fight me!"_

 _Naruto just ignored him though as he left, knowing as he did that that would annoy and humiliate the Uchiha more than words ever could. The boy was still that just a boy, one who seemed to need constant validation. Naruto's sisters however, they were both much more complex and confusing than the Uchiha brat. Naruto was already looking forward to seeing how they would do in the Chunin Exams. He had a job to do, but he was not going to let it stop him from enjoying himself._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 16**

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha with Naruto)**

Naruto let out a sign of boredom as he led his three 'genin' through Konoha, currently he was escorting them to Konoha's Shinobi Academy where the first stage of the Chunin Exam was to take place. Of course in Naruto's humble opinion the Chunin Exam was a complete waste of time, the first part of the exam was a classroom based exercise where tasks were given to the genin which tested the way they thought, and how they could use certain skills. The second part of the test was a team based practical exercise, where they would be given a task pitted against other teams, it was based around teamwork, carrying out orders and physical ability. The final part of the Chunin Exams was a tournament style competition where they fought one on one, like performing animals in front of a crowd.

Suffice to say Naruto thought it was total bullshit. He Clementine and Victor had never had to go through that crap, they had learned how to be Shinobi on the field. They either gained the skills necessary to survive or they died, that was how true Shinobi were forged, on the field of battle where a single mistake can cost you both your own life and the lives of those around you. They didn't need to go through this nonsense and the fact that Naruto was now S-Rank and both Clementine and Victor were A-Rank was in Naruto's mind proof of this.

In contrast the Chunin Exams were a joke and the caliber of Shinobi they produced were just fodder. Supposedly the Exams were a wargame where the Villages could air their grievances against one another without resorting to war, as well as show off their skills for perspective clients, that much Naruto could understand and approve of. War fought over trivial grudges was inefficient and stupid and drawing in prospective clients was necessary for a Shinobi Villages economy. But in terms of creating decent Shinobi, he was doubtful that the Chunin Exams was that useful.

This was why Naruto was glad he didn't have to take part in the Exam. Making it to the finals was his teams duty, he had instead been sent to Konoha to gather information on the offensive and defensive capabilities of Konoha, Suna and Oto, whilst also finding out Oto's and Suna's full invasion plan and the forces they would be bringing to bear and the likelihood, in Naruto's opinion of their success.

He had been in Konoha for two days now and progress on that front had been quite slow so far, he had gone on a wander when he first arrived, checking out the new arrivals and the hidden ANBU teams as he did so. He had not bothered trying to hide himself whilst he was doing that, as that would only draw attention, it was always better to hide in plain sight. So far he had found out about the Kazekage's children being present along with Suna's Jinchruuriki, just as he had discovered that there was suspiciously only one team here from Oto.

It was not a huge amount, but with the Chunin Exams now beginning he was hoping to take advantage of the opportunity it gave him. He had managed to secure himself a positon as a proctor in the second stage of the Chunin Exams alongside a Konoha Shinobi named Anko Mitarashi, this would allow him to spy on the Oto and Suna teams. It would also give him the opportunity to abduct and interrogate a few enemy Shinobi during the chaos of the second stage if necessary.

That being said though, Oto only had one team of Shinobi taking part in the Chunin Exams and he was under orders to allow them to advance to the finals, as per the Otokage's plans. Naruto very much doubted that that was the only force they had present in Konoha, even so that team would be Naruto's starting point, he just had to ensure they remained alive long enough to make it to the third stage.

Suna had a lot more genin teams in the Chunin Exams, but the only group Naruto suspected of having useful information was the genin team consisting of the Kazekage's three children; Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Like with the Oto team though he was under orders to make sure Suna made it to the finals as well. Since Mei had not decided whether she would assist Suna and Oto or help Konoha, he was not to disrupt or assist in any of Oto's and Suna's plans until Mei decided what she wanted to do.

Konoha naturally as the hosting Village had the most teams in the Exam, but like with Suna most of those teams would be full of useless fodder, not that Naruto was that concerned about digging up information on Konoha, as a former resident he knew the big names and knew the likely targets who might hold the information he was looking for.

"Hurry up you lot." Naruto said brusquely as he glanced over his shoulder, watching as Hodan, Suigetsu and Chojuro quickly followed after him, all three of them resigned to having to take part in the Chunin Exams.

All three of them were dressed in black and mottled grey coloured Shinobi pants, with black sandals. They all had mesh undershirts on and light blue coloured shirts over the top. Both Chojuro and Suigetsu as trainee members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist had their respective swords strapped to their backs and their Shinobi Head bands wrapped around their arms.

Hodan or Cannonball as he liked to be called, had a set of Samurai-esque armour on over the top of his shirt and pants. With a layer of hardened armour on his chest, arms, legs and torso, this equipment whilst unusual for a Shinobi due to its weight and the effect it had on mobility was a useful tool for Hodan considering his unique abilities.

"This is going to be so shit!" Suigetsu complained loudly as he and the other two trailed behind Naruto, his arms behind his head as he watched Konoha's Shinobi Academy loom closer.

"Probably." Naruto said with a nod, not really caring about Suigetsu's lack of professionalism, in fact it was probably for the better as genin were expected to be whiny and overconfident. Plus he didn't particularly like the annoying swordsman, he was loud, petulant and overconfident in his abilities. Under normal circumstance Naruto would have kicked his teeth in, hopefully knocking some sense into the boy, unfortunately though these were not normal circumstances so he had to just grit his teeth and bare Suigetsu's abrasive personality.

"So what will you be doing whilst we are doing the Exam?" Chojuro asked a bit more respectfully, Naruto like him far more than Suigetsu, he after all had the good sense not to deliberately antagonize a superior.

If he was honest Naruto was not surprised by Chojuro's question, after all he like Hodan and Suigetsu had been only given the vaguest details about what they were supposed to be doing here in Konoha. The only thing they knew about their mission was that they were to make it into the finals, whilst also ensuring not to kill anyone from Konoha, Suna or Oto. That was all Naruto had decided to share with them, after all, although he was confident in his own abilities he was not fully confident in theirs, which is why he would not be giving them any information which could come back to bite Kiri in the arse if Konoha, Suna or Oto found it out.

Understandably this was frustrating for the three of them, but he knew none of them wanted to push him, as he did after all have the reputation of being brutal, ruthless and borderline sadistic.

"Whilst you are doing the first part of the Exam I will be going to the Academy's teachers' lounge, keeping an eye on this portion of the exams, looking for any suspicious activity. As for the second part, well I have been volunteered by the Mizukage to be one of the proctors for the second round of the Exams, so you will probably see me after you pass the first portion." Naruto said as he led the way into the Academy. "I take it you all remember you are to pass the Exam."

"Oh shit really… and there I was going to fail it." Suigetsu said sarcastically.

Hodan gave the other boy a dig in the side. "Watch Suigetsu, don't get too mouthy."

"Don't worry Pain we will make it to the finals." Chojuro said with a confident nod a she met Naruto's crimson eyed gaze.

"Good… now fuck off." Naruto said gruffly as he gestured for them to get a move on, sending Suigetsu a look of impending doom as he did so. He was pleased to see that the white haired pay paled significantly as he caught Naruto's fiery eyed gaze, wilting slightly as he saw he had succeeded in pissed him off, probably having discovered that it was not the wisest thing he has ever done. "The waiting room is up there somewhere, just make sure you don't do something stupid and get disqualified, I am talking to you Suigetsu. Also try not to be morons and fail this part of the Exam."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Pain." Hodan said dryly rolling his eyes as he saw the twinkle of amusement in Pain's crimson eyes. Giving his old friend a nod, Hodan then turned on his heel before he and his team headed off, following the signs which led to the first stage of the Chunin Exam.

Naruto waited a few seconds, watching as his team headed upstairs, he was not at all worried about whether or not they would succeed either in this part of the exam or the next. The three of them were handpicked for this mission after all, Mei herself had vouched that both Chojuro and Suigetsu were High Chunin level, whilst Naruto knew from experience that his old friend Hodan was probably Low Jounin level. As long as at least one of them made it to the finals that was all that Mei needed, even so if any of them did fail to get into the finals though he would feel nothing but embarrassment for them.

"I have to say Pain, you really know how to inspire confidence in your genin." A sweet melodic voice spoke up from behind Naruto.

Glancing around, a bemused smile crept across his face as he saw Kushina Uzumaki standing behind him, a slight smile on her face as she met his gaze. The beautiful red head was standing a half a dozen steps behind him, her own genin team consisting of Mito Uzumaki, Erza Uzumkai and Sasuke Uchiha waiting patiently behind her. Glancing over them Naruto was amused to see that both of his sisters were looking at him curiously, whilst Sasuke was glaring daggers at him, the little shit.

"Negative reinforcement, it works every time." Naruto said blandly, as he turned to fully face her.

"Hmm, maybe I should try that with my own team." Kushina replied, her lips quirking upwards as she gave her team a sweet smile, getting a shudder from both of her daughters, and a scowl from Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled at that.

"Right then Team Seven you should all head upstairs and do your best, this first part of the exam should be starting soon." Kushina said as she smiled encouragingly at her team, reaching out and squeezing her daughter's shoulders comfortingly as she did so. "Both Yugao and I have every confidence in you."

"Right." Mito said with a wide grin as she shoulder bumped her sister, before she turned to the staircase and began heading up to the exam room, giving Kushina and Naruto one last glance as she did so. "We're definitely going to make it to Chunin."

Erza smiled faintly as she saw Mito's enthusiasm before she turned to Kushina, giving her a respectful nod before she turned to follow Mito upstairs. "We won't let you down."

"Hn!" Sasuke grunted in reply, not even glancing at Kushina as he turned to go, though he did spare a single nasty look for Naruto before he followed after the other two members of his team.

"A real eclectic bunch you have there." Naruto said dryly as he watch his sisters and Itachi's little brother leave.

Kushina nodded as she heard that, sending her daughters a proud yet worried look as they headed upstairs. She had absolute confidence in her daughter's abilities and knew that both of them were more than capable of becoming Chunin, still though she was worried. The Chunin Exams were not an easy task, especially the second part, where they would go into the Forest of Death and competing against other genin teams. This part of the exam had effectively no rules, anything went which meant that there were always dozens of deaths every year. There were of course proctors for this stage of the exam, but their job was more to explain the task and ensure that the teams received no external help. They weren't expected to make sure that the teams didn't kill each other.

Tearing her mind away from that particularly morbid string of thought, Kushina glanced over at the young Kiri Jounin. She had only met him once before when they had eaten Ramen together, but even so she felt a connection with him. They had gotten along very well and Kushina found herself liking the boy's dry and cynical view on life, as well as his humour. "So what are you going to be doing now?"

Naruto blinked in surprise as he realised Kushina was talking to him. "Not sure, will probably head up to the teachers' lounge and see how my brats do. I was told they had a live feed for the first stage of the exam up there?"

"Yeah you're right they just use the Academy security system. I'll come with you if you don't mind, I think a group of Konoha Jounin are meeting up there to watch as well" Kushina said with a smile. "You can join us if you want."

"Sure, maybe" Naruto replied noncommittally with a shrug before he began to head upstairs, Kushina walking at his side. A smile on her face as she turned to him, trying to engage him in meaningless small talk as they slowly made their way to the teacher's staffroom.

 **( - )**

 **(With Team Seven)**

As Team Seven entered the testing room they were greeted by a wave of killer intent that hit them like a wall as all the other genin currently waiting for the exam to start turned to them. Unlike the other genin in their year group however who would be cowed, all three of them shook it off. Both Mito and Sasuke were easily able to ignore the weak killer intent sent their way, having felt far worse in Wave, both when Grimm and Kakashi fought and when Mito had lost control and attacked Grimm head on. In comparison the killer intent they were receiving from the assembled genin before them was almost laughable.

Erza was just as capable of ignoring the killer intent as her team mates, this was because she like them used to far worse. Unlike Mito who spent most of her time on her Fuuinjutsu, Erza had during the last month under her mother's careful watch, started to learn how to draw on and control upwards of four tails of the Kyuubi's chakra, it was very hard going both physically and mentally, especially since the Kyuubi's chakra was literally dripping with rage and hatred. Which is why, like the other two she found the other genin's attempts at intimidation almost laughable.

Even so, although they were not negatively affected by the killer intent they could still feel the building tension in the room as more and more people entered and the time for the start of the exam drew closer. The room was currently full of more than a hundred genin, all of them from multiple Shinobi Villages, and looking at them it was clear to see all of them wanted to pass the exam and become Chunin just as much as they did.

"Sasuke!" A loud voice suddenly called out, breaking the tension and gaining the attention of all three members of Team Seven.

Mito let out a snort of amusement as she heard the familiar voice call Sasuke's name, it appeared the more things changed the more they stayed the same. Turning around Mito watched on bemused as a pretty blonde haired girl around her own age, wearing mesh under armour and a stylish purple skirt and top ran up to them. This was Ino Yamanaka, a fellow Shinobi from their year group and one of Sasuke's 'fangirls'.

Following behind Ino, Mito could clearly see Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, the other two members of Ino's team, Team Ten, resignedly following the blonde. Mito grinned slightly when she saw the look of irritation of Shikamaru's face as Ino threw her arms around Sasuke with a squeal, gaining their small group the attention of the entire room.

"Troublesome… it looks like you guys got roped into competing in these exams as well." Shikamaru said lazily as he and Choji, who was eating from a bag of chips, joined Team Seven and their teammate, glancing around warily as he felt the attention on them.

Erza let out a small sigh as she heard how unenthusiastic Shikamaru sounded about one of the most important events in their Shinobi career so far. By her side Mito let out a slight giggle, as she heard Shikamaru's comment.

"I suppose it is nice to see how somethings never change." Erza said with a small smirk spreading across her face, before she turned and dragged Ino off Sasuke, leaving the boy red faced and embarrassed and the girl most put out. "Also can you keep control of your teammate?"

"Trust me it is too troublesome dealing with her." Shikamaru sigh, getting a disgruntled "hey" from Ino as he did so.

"Well there goes the neighborhood! It looks like you guys are taking the exams too! Not like you are going to win, right Akamaru?" Kiba Inuzuka, another of Konoha's rookies said as he approached the others. Closely following along behind him was the boy's canine partner, Akamaru. Following closely behind Kiba was also Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga, two other rookies from Mito and Erza's academic year and the final members of Kiba's team, Team Eight. Unlike Kiba though who was both loud and brash, the two of them were much more subdued and as they met up with the others.

"Of course we are, like we would miss a chance to show you up dog breath." Mito said with a fiercely competitive grin, getting a scowl out of Kiba before he loudly retorted. What followed next could best be described as a chaotic mess as Kiba and Mito began arguing loudly and Sasuke attempted to shake off Ino who had once again attempted to cling to him, the others all watching on with amusement.

Soon enough though, their loud and rowdy behavior attracted the attention of the other genin in the room, all of whom began glaring heatedly at the noisy group.

"You know being so loud usually puts a large target on your backs. That's something that is not recommended for anyone but especially not for rookies like you." An unfamiliar older boy with distinctive glasses and silver hair said as he approached the group of rookie genin, a disarming and friendly smile on his face.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked bluntly, his brow furrowing and temper spiking at being called a rookie.

"The name's Kabuto Yakushi. And as a fellow Konoha Shinobi let me give you rookies a piece of good advice. I've taken these tests seven times so far… and trust me, they aren't easy. The best thing you can do at this stage is to not draw too much attention to yourselves, it'll only bite you in the arse later when you have all the other genins gunning for you." The now named Kabuto said in warning.

This got Kabuto a number of surprised looks from Ino, Kiba and a couple of the others as they looked around the room, the sight that greeted them was of a number of pissed off genin. Most of them glaring irritably at the group of Konoha rookies. The sight of them caused the timid Hinata to step behind Kiba slightly to hide herself and a number of the other rookies to flinch slightly. It appears some of those present had not realised what a spectacle they were making of themselves.

"So you're kind of a veteran of the Chunin Exams then?" Ino asked as she tore her eyes away from the rest of the room and instead focused on Kabuto, minding comfort in a friendly face in a sea of pissed of Shinobi.

"Yep and because we are fellow Konoha Shinobi..." Kabuto said moving closer to the group, the friendly expression still on his face as he saw all of them lean in to hear what he had to say, "I'll share a little of my expertise with you." Kabuto said pulling out a deck of cards from a side pocket as he did so, "These nin-info cards I have, have information on Shinobi of note throughout the Elemental Nations including the main competitors for this examination, ask me anything?" Kabuto continued his eyes gleaming behind his glasses as he saw how Mito and Sasuke seemed to perk up at that, he then laid the cards down, pulling a certain card out as an example, he applied a little bit of chakra and with a 'poof' of smoke, a graph of what looked to be participating countries and the numbers they sent into this exam.

Looking up at the group, Kabuto's glasses flashed, he had set the bait now he just needed one of the brats to take it, it would be a good way to ingratiate himself to the last Uchiha.

"Do you have info on none genin individuals?" Sasuke asked a glint in his eyes, as he stared at the cards laid down before him.

Next to the last Uchiha, Mito also gained a very focused look, on her face no doubt having had the same idea as Sasuke. If Kabuto had the information he claimed to have, then he might have something on a certain Shinobi she had met in Wave.

"Hehe. Someone you guys are worried about?" Kabuto asked with a smirk, curious about who they would be asking about, "My info isn't perfect but I do have some about none genin Shinobi. Who do you want to know about?"

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes before in the Academy Staffroom)**

Naruto opened the doors to the Academy teachers' lounge, Kushina Uzumaki walking alongside him, a smile on her face as the two engaged in idle small talk. Small talk wasn't something Naruto usually enjoyed, as he tended to want to get straight to the point, but for now he was humouring his mother.

It had been over three years since he had left Konoha. But now he was back he was just enjoying her company, he had never held any hatred for either of his parents over his years away and had in fact found himself missing them, not that he would chose to do anything differently if he was given the choice. Looking back now he understood their reluctance to allow him to train or become a Shinobi even if he did disagree with it. Their concern for him came from a position of love, how could he hold that against his parents.

Entering the Academy teacher's staffroom Naruto immediately noted that it was a large room, filled with a tables and chairs, with a small kitchen area in the corner and a number of screens set into one of the walls. Looking at the screens Naruto noticed that they were currently showing the room where all the genin were waiting for the examination to begin.

Looking away from the screens Naruto instead looked around the room seeing that it already held around two dozen Shinobi, mostly from Konoha. This wasn't too surprising for Naruto as the first part of the Chunin Exam was heavily supervised and by watching how the test went Jounin Sensei's could see what they would need to do to help their genin improve and develop so that if they did fail, they could pass the next time and go on to become Chunin. Or at least that was what most of the Shinobi here were doing, Naruto however was here so he could watch to see whether he could spot any suspicious genin he could track down and interrogate during the second part of the exam.

As they entered the room, Naruto noticed that a number of Konoha Jounin were looking at him suspiciously. It wasn't surprising considering his age and the fact that he was the only Kiri Jounin with a team in the Chunin Exams. Still though it didn't bother Naruto.

Glancing around the room Naruto noticed that all the Jounin tended to stick to their little groups based off of which Village they came from. There was almost no mingling with the other foreign Shinobi. Unfortunately for Naruto though he didn't have a group to stand with, and since he was the only Kiri Jounin in Konoha he had been hoping to meet the Oto Jounin Sensei, unfortunately though by the looks of it the Oto Jounin Sensei hadn't bothered to turn up, which was a shame as Naruto had been hoping to get a read on him.

"Hey Pain, why don't you come sit with us." Kushina said amiably, normally Kushina would not be interested in mixing with Jounin from other Villages, but she found that she liked Pain and with things as tense as they were with Kiri, after the death of Kakashi, maybe it would be in the best interests to start building bridges again, after all the last thing anyone wanted was for another Shinobi War to occur.

"I'm not sure…" Naruto began cautiously, he could see the benefits in terms of information gathering, but at the same time it proved a risk. Not a physical risk though, because as a foreign Shinobi here for the Chunin Exams he had what was known as 'Guest Rights', he couldn't be attacked or harmed otherwise it could potentially lead to and international incident or war, such was the case a number of years ago when a couple of Kumo Shinobi were killed by the Hyuuga it had caused an international incident and had led to the Hyuuga in question being sent to Kumo for execution. No it was not risk on his wellbeing that concerned him, instead it was the risk of Naruto showing his hand too early, there were Suna Shinobi in the room after all and sitting with the Konoha Shinobi could give them the wrong idea and undermine Naruto's reason for being in Konoha in the first place.

Naruto ended up not really having a choice as Kushina instead led him to a nearby table, one which already had a number of other Jounin occupying it. There was a well-built man, wearing a green full body suit, with a bowl haircut and gleaming smile. There was also a ruggedly handsome man, with brown hair, a stubbly beard and a cigarette. Sitting behind the smoker were two very pretty women, one with eyes as red as Naruto's own, long black hair and an unusual outfit that looked like it consisted of bandages. The other woman meanwhile had hazel eyes, violet hair done up in a short, somewhat spiky ponytail, she had a tan overcoat, complete with a fitted mesh body suit that stretched from her neck down to her thighs. As Kushina led Naruto over, he noticed how all of them turned to look at him strangely.

"Hey there Kushina, looks like you picked up a stray." The bearded Jounin said in amusement, though a single look at his eyes showed Naruto he was suspicious, most likely due to the Kiri symbol the red eyed boy proudly displayed.

"No this is Pain, he is a Kiri Jounin that I met the other day. I ran into him as we were dropping off our teams and thought I would invite him to tag along." Kushina replied with a grin as she took a seat at the table, before she looked expectantly over at Naruto.

"He's a bit young to be a Jounin isn't he?" The man with the bowl cut said with a surprised smile, before he glanced up at Naruto's forehead protector, his smile dimming as he saw the Kiri symbol. "Though I suppose considering how old Itachi and Kakashi were when they became a Jounin there really isn't much difference."

"I suppose there are prodigies in every Village." The bearded man replied looking at Naruto closely before sticking out a friendly hand. "The name's Asuma, Asuma Sarutobi."

"Pain." Naruto replied a bit stiltedly as he took Asuma's hand before he stiffly took a seat. The mention of Kakashi was enough to tell him that these people were likely the man's friends, and as Kakashi's killer it made Naruto less than comfortable.

"Your name is Pain?" The purple haired woman snorted in amusement. "Well that is a terrible name."

Naruto sent her a wry glance at that.

"Well it is not that bad, it's certainly… unique." The red eyed woman spoke up diplomatically, giving her purple haired friend a nudge in the side with her elbow as she did so.

"Don't mind Anko, Pain. She just enjoys causing trouble." Kushina spoke up giving Anko a slight frown before sending Naruto a smile.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto replied waving away her comments. "So I take it all your teams are a part of the Chunin Exams."

"Yes indeed." The man in the green body suited said, his enthusiasm renewed at the thought of his team, a large grin spreading across his face. "Well all except Anko of course, she's not a full Jounin yet."

Naruto sent the purple haired woman a bemused smile at that. "Well I am sure in a few years you can make the cut."

Anko scowled in response, "Screw you, I am more than ready now, it's all political."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, before he could ask though he was cut off by Kushina who had turned to look at the screens.

"It looks like our teams have all arrived." Kushina said bringing the table's attention to the screens, the table of Jounin quieting down so that they could all hear what was happening. No doubt they all wanted to see how their teams would cope under the pressure of being in the same room of so many of their competitors. Judging by the embarrassed look on Asuma's face though when a blonde haired girl through herself at the Uchiha, it was going to be amusing.

Naruto also decided to watch, his eyes moving across the screens before he saw his own team, standing off to the side, both Hodan and Chojuro patiently waiting for the exam to start, whilst Suigetsu who was clearly bored tried to antagonize some nearby Ame Shinobi. He really was a little shit.

Looking away from what they were doing Naruto instead looked on in interest as a grey haired boy who looked to be in his late teens approached his sister's group. Something about the boy was off, maybe it was the way he walked, or the way he talked, but something about him set Naruto on edge, so much so that he decided to listen in with the other Konoha Shinobi on what this Kabuto was saying.

 **( - )**

 **(Back in the examination room)**

"Yeah I want to know about three people if you have any info on them." Sasuke spoke up, talking over Mito as she also attempted to speak. "The first one is a guy named Gaara he is in the Chunin Exams too. The other two aren't, I want to know what you have on a Kiri Shinobi called Pain and on a Hunter-nin called Grimm!"

Kabuto eyes widened a fraction as he heard that, them asking about Grimm was not unexpected considering Team Seven's ill-fated trip to Wave, but he hadn't expected to be asked about Pain. In fact he hadn't even been aware that they had met with him, the fact they had though was certainly worth noting. He would have to make sure to send on the information that the Mizukage's dog was here in Konoha and that he had made contact with the last Uchiha, his master would certainly not like that. Especially considering the plans he had in the works, Kabuto didn't know what the Mizukage was up to, but whatever it was he would ensure it didn't disrupt their plans. Pain's presence gave him an opportunity, one which he could make use of right now.

"Who are those guys?" Ino suddenly spoke up curious about why Sasuke asked about such obscure people, after all if she hadn't heard of them surely they were not that good

Mito scowled as she answered Ino, "Pain and Gaara are just some Shinobi we met the other day. Pain is apparently a Jounin despite being around our age and Gaara well he just seemed dangerous, hearing about them would be interesting. But I want to know more about Grimm, he was the one who Killed Kakashi after all."

"The same one who crippled Sakura?" Ino asked her eyes wide as she thought back to the girl's state, she was still in hospital recovering from the spinal damage Grimm had caused. The last time Ino had spoken to the girl, Sakura had told her she was going to quit being a Shinobi, suffice to say Ino did not like this Grimm guy.

"Yeah the guy's some kind of monster." Mito said with a scowl, around her she could see the other rookie genin tense, they had not really known Kakashi so his death did not really affect them, but they had all been in the Academy with Sakura and had seen the state she had been left in.

"So you got anything on them?" Sasuke asked redirecting the conversation, as unlike the others he did not particularly care about either Sakura's injuries or Kakashi's death. Instead he just saw three strong Shinobi who he could use as stepping stones to measure his abilities before he killed his brother, Itachi.

"You know their names that will make it easier." Kabuto said looking through his cards, most of his information he had was based off of the different Village's Bingo Books, but he had also collected other little tidbits that he added in from his master's spy networks. "I have a little something on each of them."

"Good." Sasuke said as he looked at Kabuto expectantly.

"We'll start with Gaara." Kabuto said amicably as he applied chakra to a card and a picture of Gaara appeared. "He's the youngest son of the Kazekage, his stats are relatively unknown, but he and his team regularly complete B-rank missions as genin so you can count of him being strong. Especially since he has come back from all the missions he's done without a single scratch."

"Hardcore." Kiba said with a nod, whilst the other genin muttered to themselves.

"What about the others?" Sasuke asked as he noted that Gaara was worth fighting.

"Well then we have Pain, he is a Jounin Sensei and is around your own age, his skills are relatively unknown other than the fact he is skilled in Kenjutsu and wields an axe. But apparently he is a veteran of the Kiri Civil War and apparently was with Mei Terumi the Fifth Mizukage when she engaged the Fourth Mizukage in combat, I don't know the details of what happened but he fact the survived shows he's tough. Other than that he is relatively unknown having disappeared around three years ago, it is likely he specialized and became either an ANBU… or a Hunter-nin…" Kabuto trailed off, he had his own suspicions on just what the boy had been doing during that time, but so far they were only suspicions so he wouldn't out right say them. Still though it would be useful to plant the seeds of distrust between Kiri and Konoha, just in case Kiri tried something funny, which considering Pain's presence was a possibility. "Other than that, the only other things I know is that he is a former Outcast who settled in Kiri, so he likely has some very strange and unique abilities…"

"Damn how is a guy like that our age?!" Kiba shouted loudly.

"Sounds like an interesting guy." Ino said thoughtfully, before she turned to Mito and Erza. "You've met him right, what do you think, is he hot?"

"He's pretty hot yeah." Erza said her lips quirking upwards as she humoured Ino.

"Yeah he's a pretty cool guy." Mito added in as she remembered meeting Pain. "Got a bit of a weird name though."

"He is an Outcast, they're all a bit of a strange lot." Choji spoke up, having heard tales of the Rogue Clans before from his father, he had a distinct opinion on the formerly nomadic Shinobi. They might have been accepted into Kiri but a lot of the other Shinobi in other countries still viewed them with suspicion.

"What about Grimm." Sasuke asked, noting to himself that Pain would be a worthy opponent to fight if he ever met him outside of the Chunin Exams. After all the boy had been involved in a Kage level fight and had walked away alive, that was not something even Sasuke could look down on.

"Ah yes the last one, Grimm." Kabuto said as he glanced up and saw that all the rookies were still giving him their full attention. "He's a young Hunter-nin who first appeared around three years ago with ties to Kiri and is known to be part of the infamous Ghoul Team. He has recently been given an S-rank level and a high bounty by Konoha, and is most recently accredited with killing Kakashi Hatake of Konoha and Raiga Kurosuki formerly of Kiri. It is suspected that he has links to the Uzumaki Clan considering his ability to wield chakra chains, it is also suspected that he is a member of a Rogue Clan due to him possessing a unique chakra which somehow desiccates flesh. Other than that not much is known except that he is very skilled in Kenjutsu and wields an axe, and that he is a former Outcast with some very strange and unique abilities…"

Shikamaru frowned as he heard that, his sharp intelligence instantly making a link between the two Shinobi, Pain and Grimm. Both of whom were obviously from Kiri, both of whom were skilled in Kenjutsu and used an axe, a very distinct weapon for a Shinobi. Pain was known to have disappeared around three years ago having become an ANBU or a Hunter-nin, whilst Grimm the Hunter-nin had apparently appeared three years ago. Furthermore both of them were former Outcasts. The information Kabuto had on them both was almost too coincidental. Shiikamaru narrowed his eyes at that, it was like the boy wanted them to link both Pain and Grimm… but why?

"Wait a second…" Mito said her brow furrowed in confusion as she too caught on to the implications of what Kabuto had said

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto in the Teachers' Lounge)**

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he heard the information Kabuto gave out about him. It was more than a genin should have access to, and the way it was phrased it was obvious the boy was trying to hint at a connection between Grimm and Pain. Immediately it made Naruto suspicious, both because of the information the boy had and his reasons behind what he had done. It was likely he was purposefully trying to put a wedge between Naruto and Konoha.

A few moments later Naruto stiffened as he remembered where he was. He was in the Shinobi Academy in Konoha, in close proximity to a number of Kakashi's old comrades. Looking up Naruto saw that the Konoha Jounin around him were looking at him suspiciously. It was not surprising really that they could so quickly make a conclusion on what Kabuto had said. They had no solid evidence to base their assumptions on, but they didn't need evidence to be suspicious.

Looking to the side Naruto caught Kushina's gaze, his red eyes widening slightly as he saw the distrust in her gaze and the way she had tensed up. Looking around the table he could see the hostile gazes now facing him. This Kabuto had succeeded in bringing Konoha's suspicion down upon Naruto, which would make his task many times harder than it was before. More than that though, Naruto suspected the boy had done it on purpose, which begged the question of why?

Still the boy had made a mistake, he had shown his hand and gotten Naruto's attention on him as a possible spy for Suna or Oto. Which considering Naruto was the proctor of the second stage of the exam did not bode well for young Kabuto.

Standing up from the table, ignoring the hostility now levelled at him. Naruto calmly turned to Kushina before saying. "Well I best get off, I need to prepare for the next stage of the exam. I am one of the proctors."

The scraping of a chair told him Kushina had stood up to, her face stone cold as she met Naruto's gaze. "So is it true then Pain? Are you Grimm?"

 **( - )**

 **AN: So that was the chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a comment or a review.**

 **Will see you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: So I have to say I was surprised by just how good the response was to my last chapter, so much so that I decided to put in a bit of extra effort and get this chapter out a lot faster than I had originally thought. So you have yourselves to thank for giving me the enthusiasm to get it done. SO yeah thanks for all the comment and reviews I really appreciated them.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter and I hope you all leave a comment or review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Naruto's eyes narrowed as he heard the information Kabuto gave out about him. It was more than a genin should have access to, and the way it was phrased it was obvious the boy was trying to hint at a connection between Grimm and Pain. Immediately it made Naruto suspicious, both because of the information the boy had and his reasons behind what he had done. It was likely he was purposefully trying to put a wedge between Naruto and Konoha._

 _A few moments later Naruto stiffened as he remembered where he was. He was in the Shinobi Academy in Konoha, in close proximity to a number of Kakashi's old comrades. Looking up Naruto saw that the Konoha Jounin around him were looking at him suspiciously. It was not surprising really that they could so quickly make a conclusion on what Kabuto had said. They had no solid evidence to base their assumptions on, but they didn't need evidence to be suspicious._

 _Looking to the side Naruto caught Kushina's gaze, his red eyes widening slightly as he saw the distrust in her gaze and the way she had tensed up. Looking around the table he could see the hostile gazes now facing him. This Kabuto had succeeded in bringing Konoha's suspicion down upon Naruto, which would make his task many times harder than it was before. More than that though, Naruto suspected the boy had done it on purpose, which begged the question of why?_

 _Still the boy had made a mistake, he had shown his hand and gotten Naruto's attention on him as a possible spy for Suna or Oto. Which considering Naruto was the proctor of the second stage of the exam did not bode well for young Kabuto._

 _Standing up from the table, ignoring the hostility now levelled at him. Naruto calmly turned to Kushina before saying. "Well I best get off, I need to prepare for the next stage of the exam. I am one of the proctors."_

 _The scraping of a chair told him Kushina had stood up to, her face stone cold as she met Naruto's gaze. "So is it true then Pain? Are you Grimm?"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 17**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto in the Academy Staffroom)**

Naruto froze as he heard that, he hadn't expected Kushina to ask such a blunt and to the point question, especially considering the fact she was basing her conclusions off of the words of a genin. That being said though, he should have known she would ask something like this, his mother had always been a passionate person, ruled first and foremost by emotion, she did not bandy words around like some sleazy Politian, instead she said what she thought and did what she deemed right. It was an admirable trait in Naruto's opinion, but right now it was quite annoying.

Kushina's blunt question had been put on the spot, already he could feel the gazes of Kushina and her Jounin friends locked on him. Thinking quickly, Naruto came up with a number of possible responses he could go with. First off he could lie, make up something on the spot and hope the five experienced Jounin in front of him did not see through his ruse. Or secondly he could just ignore the question and walk away, as if that would ever work out well. Or finally he could be partially truthful, those were his three options as he saw them, they weren't great options all things considered.

Thinking over the three options Naruto immediately dismissed the second one, if he ignored the question and walked away, it would immediately be seen as a cowardly and weak admission of guilt and would likely backfire on him, he could honestly see nothing positive coming from that option.

The first option, lying, was not a particularly enticing option, first off he would have to make up something on the spot, something that would have to hold up to the scrutiny of five older and more experienced Jounin. Naruto might be more skilled when it comes to fighting, tracking and interrogation, his unique abilities giving him a distinct advantage that few could match, but in terms of a Shinobi's other skills such as lying and subterfuge he was quite average for a Jounin. In all honesty he doubted that right now he could come up with a good enough lie that would withstand scrutiny, and if he did and Mei then decided to assist Konoha during the planned invasion then the truth would likely get out and things could backfire badly. He could of course make the claim that he is a member of the same Rogue Clan Grimm as from or that he was a former student, but again he doubted it would withstand scrutiny, plus he would still be seen as guilty by association.

The final option the truth was not that much more desirable. If he admitted to being Grimm he would instantly have the eyes of Konoha locked on him more than they were already. He would not have to worry about physical harm coming to him, at least not during the Chunin Exams as he was a guest and a member of Kiri, but outside of the Chunin Exams they could still kill him, though considering he was from another Shinobi Village that was always going to be the case. That being said if he did come clean and explain his justification for killing Kakashi, although he was very unlikely to be making any friends but he could at least stand by what he did with his head held high. As he said none of the options were that good, but at least this way he could own it and decided what gets out.

This all went through Naruto's head in as he met Kushina's cold look calmly, his crimson eyes unflinching as he paused for a second creating his three options, analyzing them and coming to a decision in a moment. Cocking his head to the side Naruto replied. "Yes?"

Kushina's mouth tightened as she heard his admission having likely not expected it to be so straightforward, and around her he could see the Jounin he had sat with previously tense up. Maito Guy, the man with the bowl cut, green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers, had the biggest reaction. A dangerous glint entered his gaze at Naruto's admission, and his hands tightened into fists. Glancing over at him Naruto could easily see that the man was barely holding himself back from attacking him, it appears the man must have had a strong bond with the Copy Ninja, maybe sexual in nature or maybe not, Naruto was never one to judge.

"So you killed Kakashi?" Kushina said her expression and eyes still cold as she met Naruto's calm and tranquil gaze. "Why?"

Naruto blinked as he heard that, she was asking him 'why' he killed Kakashi, he would have thought that his reason were obvious. "Because he attacked me, getting in the way of my duties. He was a Shinobi with a mission, and I was a Shinobi from a different Village with another mission, our missions intercepted. I gave him a number of warnings to back off and allow me to complete my mission, he did not take me up on them. This led to the Uchiha attacking and Kakashi assisting him, which led to the two of us fighting and me killing him before he could kill me."

It was a reasonable answer and all the assembled Jounin knew it. Kushina, Asuma, Guy, Anko and Kurenai they were all Jounin, elite Shinobi. They had done countless missions for Konoha, and during those missions they had come up against Shinobi from other Villages. They had killed Kumo Shinobi, Iwa Shinobi, Kiri Shinobi and many others from many other Villages, when enemy or neutral Shinobi met on the field of battle on opposing sides this more often than not would lead to death. It was a fact of the world they live in and the careers they chose to pursue.

Yet when it is one of your comrades who is killed on the field by an enemy Shinobi it is different, the person who is dead is not just some faceless nobody. It's someone you grew up with, someone you knew, someone you had bonds and connections to. When that happened it became a lot more personal. It was hypocrisy at its finest, people only care when it happens to them or someone they know. In Naruto's mind it was almost like a never-ending cycle of pain, as the hurt will often go one to avenge themselves, hurting others along the way who will also go one to avenge themselves.

"What you don't have anything to say?" Naruto said as he looked around at the Shinobi facing him. "Or have you realised that I am not some monster but am in fact a loyal Shinobi doing my duty to my Village just as your friend Kakashi was a loyal Shinobi doing his duty to his Village. Yes I am Grimm and yes I killed Kakashi, just as I have killed hundreds of others from Kiri, Suna, Konoha, Iwa, Kuma, Taki, Ame…, just like you Konoha Shinobi have done exactly the same. How many hundreds of Shinobi have you all killed over the course of your careers?"

"It's different…" Guy started to say, his anger forgotten temporarily as a conflicted expression crossed over his face.

"Different how? Because it was someone you knew who got killed this time, not some faceless nobody you can brush off and ignore?" Naruto replied sharply, his crimson gaze shifting over to Guy. Yes he was happy he chose this option, he would not meekly hide who he was; he was Pain! He would not try and weasel out of his actions, no he would own up to them, and more than that he would take pride in the things he had done for his Village.

"You're right." Asuma said with a sigh, gaining looks of surprise from the others and one of hurt betrayal from Guy.

Seeing the reaction Asuma scowled, before he thrust his hand in his pocket and pulled out his half empty packet of cigarettes, pulling one out before lighting it with a weak fire jutsu. "The kid's right and you know it. I know I killed dozens of enemy Shinobi when I was one of the Fire Damiyo's bodyguards, and I have killed even more since joining back up with the Konoha main forces. The kid did his duty for his Village just as we have done ours for Konoha. We may not like it, we may not forget the fact he killed Kakashi, but I at least can accept his reasoning behind it."

"For once I agree with Asuma." Anko said getting the attention on her as she spoke up. "Kakashi was a Shinobi, he knew what he was getting into and he knew he would likely one day die doing his duty for Konoha."

"For what it's worth." Naruto said, getting the attention back on him. Noticing as he did so that the hostility had not faded much. "Kakashi died well. He fought hard and almost killed me." It was a bit of a fabrication, but Kakashi had got a hit on Naruto that would have killed a lesser person.

"I still can't believe that my old friend Kakashi lost to some kid like you." Guy suddenly spoke up, his voice quiet. Looking up Naruto was surprised to see that the man's eyes were steely as he met Naruto's gaze. "Know this Pain. One day we will fight, and on that day I expect you to show me the same strength you used to defeat Kakashi."

Naruto blinked at that, he had been expecting something a lot more vehement and threatening, especially considering how wrathful the man had seemed before. "I have no doubt we will meet on the field of battle on opposing sides at some point, when we do you are more than welcome to try and kill me."

Guy nodded resolutely at that, before he turned on his heel and left, not saying another word as he walked out of the room.

"Well you're fucked." Anko said bluntly as she turned to look at Naruto, a bemused expression on her face.

"We'll see." Naruto replied dryly, before he turned his attention to Kushina, who had been suspiciously quiet so far. Upon meeting her gaze he was surprised to see how conflicted she seemed. "Problem Kushina?"

"Back in Wave…" Kushina said, ignoring the others as she instead focused in on Naruto. "Back in Wave after you killed Kakashi you had a chance to kill his genin team, yet you didn't, despite you knowing that they would return to Konoha and tell Minato what had happened. If you had killed them then it is unlikely we would have been able to discover who attacked them, you would never have had an increased bounty and would have never been on Konoha's radar. Why did you do that?"

The other three remaining Konoha Jounin paused as they heard that, having not though about that before. If Grimm had killed Mito, Sasuke and Sakura then Konoha would never have been able to find out he was responsible, after all the Elemental Nations was a big place and Konoha had made many enemies over the years. If Grimm had killed those three kids he could have made life so much easier for himself, yet he didn't?

Naruto paused as he heard this, his mind moving a mile a minute as he pondered over what he could say. He could come out and say, 'Well that's because I didn't want to kill my sister, mum!' but somehow he didn't think that now was the right time for such a reveal.

Firstly because he had just admitted to killing Kakashi, a close family friend, his father' old student, and his sister's teacher. Secondly because he did not know which way Mei would choose, meaning he could very soon be ordered to attack Konoha, and although he would not even dream of hurting his mother or his sisters, he would have no qualms about killing any other Konoha citizen which would put him on the opposing side to his family. The final reason though was because he didn't want to reveal his connection to her, partly because he didn't want it to get in the way of his mission in Konoha and also because he had built a new life for himself, and didn't want to give up the life he had built for himself. Especially since he thought it very likely that the Shinobi Council would name him a Missing-nin despite him never having been a Konoha Shinobi. Why? Because he had a powerful bloodline ability, deep roots here in Konoha, has killed an Elite Jounin and who knows how many other Konoha Shinobi and had fled the Village and joined Kiri.

All of this passed through Naruto's mind in a single moment, as he met Kushina's curious and cautious gaze. 'Any ideas You?' Naruto thought, hoping to get some advice from You, his inner self.

 **'** **Fucked if I know.'** You replied lazily, not really paying attention to what Naruto was doing, as he instead busied himself playing with the souls Naruto had devoured and whatever else You decide dot do with his time. **'I am you after all we think the same way, that being said, best to keep quiet. I don't want to have to deal with all the angsty fallout or hurt feelings. Just keep your mind on the mission and ignore all other distractions."**

Naruto let out a sigh at that, sometimes he felt like his life was nothing more than an amusing show to You. His inner self, was a strange and capricious person, and not all that helpful when it came to anything other than fighting, killing, devouring and messing around with souls, and of course making puns.

Switching his attention back to Kushina, Naruto gave her a shrug. "They were children."

"That would not have normally stopped a Shinobi." Kushina replied.

"True, and like you said I could have very easily chosen to kill all three of them. Yet I didn't, I saw them and decided that killing the last Uchiha and the Hokage's daughter would not have been the most sensible thing to do." Naruto replied before he turned to leave, he was after all the proctor for the next part of the exam, and he had a certain genin he wanted to track down.

"So you knew who they were." Kushina spoke again, not letting the matter drop as she pinned Naruto with her gaze.

"Yes. Tell me Kushina would you have preferred it if I had killed them?" Naruto asked bluntly, getting a shocked look from the red haired woman as he did so.

"OF course not!" Kushina replied vehemently.

"Then be thankful I didn't. Also maybe reduce the bounty you have on my head to, I would certainly appreciate that." Naruto replied, idly licking his lips as he glanced over at the screens and saw that the exam had started, and all the students were now sitting at desks.

"What for not killing children…?" Kushina asked incredulously, before she let out a snort.

Naruto shrugged in response before he turned to leave. "Well I've got to get going, I am a proctor for the next part of the exam after all."

Kushina, Asuma and Kurenai all tensed as they heard that, and he couldn't blame them, they had just found out that the ruthless and notorious Hunter-nin, Grimm, was going to be in close proximity to their genin teams.

A very small smirk spread across Naruto's face as he saw their reactions before he said. "Don't worry 'Guest Rights' works both ways. Just as you cannot attack me during the Chunin Exams and my being a guest in your Village, neither can I harm any of you. You have nothing to worry about, didn't we just talk about how I didn't hurt your genin?"

Kushina nodded abruptly at that, Asuma and Kurenai however both remained quite tense.

"Wait a second and I will come with you!" Anko, the pretty violet haired women said, getting a searching look from Naruto as she did so. "I'm also a proctor for the next stage of the exam! "

"Wonderful." Naruto replied dryly as he turned to leave the room, very obviously rolling his crimson eyes as he did so.

"Oh don't looks so Grimm about it." Anko replied cheerily as she saw Naruto leaving the room, quickly following after him, exchanging a quick yet reassuring smile with the other three as she did so. "If we put our heads together we can come up with a really flashy entrance. Plus I bet you will be really good at the intimidation angle, you know giving them a red eyed glare and stuff."

Naruto didn't verbally reply as he exited the teachers' staffroom and began heading down the hall. That being said his lips did twitch upwards as he heard what Anko was saying.

"Come on wait up, don't be such a Pain!" Anko called as she chased after him.

 **( - )**

 **(In the Examination Room)**

Mito sighed as she rested her head in her hands, she had quickly been able to figure out the point of the test she had taken for the first part of the Chunin Exams. Initially they had been given an exam paper which contained a number of questions, each question getting progressively harder until they reached a point at which she doubted even a Jounin would know the answer. Then after having passed out the exams sheets the proctor, a guy called Ibiki Morino had told them they had half an hour to answer the nine questions in front of them, then after the time was up he would give them the final one. Answering the questions had not been the purpose of the test though, in fact they had just been a ruse, a smokescreen. The true purpose of the test had been the last question, one which tested the candidate's grit, strength of will and whether they had what it took to be a Chunin.

Ibiki had told them they had a choice whether or not they wanted to answer the question. They were told that if they did choose to answer it and they got it wrong, then they would never be allowed to take part in another Chunin Exam again. If they chose not to answer though and left the room then they would fail this Chunin Exam but would be allowed to take another Chunin Exam later. This had put the pressure on a number of teams and more than one genin had caved in and left the room, which of course meant that their entire team had failed as well. Fifteen teams probably failed this stage of the test, whittling the number of candidates down drastically. Luckily though Mito's team, along with the other rookie's teams had all held their nerve and had passed.

As too did the Kiri Team, the Oto Team, Kabuto's Team and the Suna Team which contained the Kazekage's children. In fact most of those who failed the test were those teams that had taken the Chunin Exams a number of times before.

A few minutes later when it looked like no one else was going to leave, Ibiki had then told them they had all passed, before he had explained the purpose of the test and how it related to being a Chunin. Overall it was as Mito had suspected, a simple ruse which separated the weakest candidate's from the strong ones.

A smile spread across Mito's face as she looked around the room and saw that all of her friends had made it too. Her smile widened even further as she met her sister, Erza's, gaze. The two of them sharing a grin at their triumph. Her exultation only lasted a few minutes though before she was distracted as one of the classrooms windows suddenly shattered, drawing the attention of the entire class. Mito's hand instinctively went towards her kunai pouch, gripping onto the comforting grip of one of her knives as she leapt to her feet. Around her Mito could see a number of the other genin's reacting the same, all of them on guard as they looked over at the now broken window cautiously.

Seeing what came through the window though had Mito rolling her eyes as she saw a large banner spread across the front of the room, held up by two kunai which had been embedded through the corners of the banner and into the wall behind it. Putting her kunai away and relaxing slightly, Mito smiled faintly as she read the message written across the banner, "The Second Exam Proctor Mitarashi Anko."

Turning to look at the woman in front of the banner Mito smile grew bigger. It was Anko, a Kunoichi who Mito and Erza had met a couple of years ago. The woman had spent a month living in their Clan Compound, whilst their mother had worked on removing a strange seal, a cursed seal Anko had told them, which had been put on her a number of years ago. The seal had apparently fused itself to both Anko's chakra and soul, causing her pain if she drew on too much chakra. Because of this and the complexities involved in removing it Kushina had apparently spent a number of years coming up with a way to safely remove it, and when she had finally discovered a way to remove the complicated seal, Anko had had to spend a month at the Compound under Kushina's watchful eye in case something had went wrong.

Suffice to say over the course of that month both Erza and Mito had grown quite close to Anko, who was only four years old them, yet had been a Chunin at the time. They had grown to like her mischievous personality, her sly humour and the complete lack of deference she had for them, even though they were the Hokage's daughters, it was very refreshing.

"Alright you brats, this is no time to be celebrating!" Anko yelled out, a sly grin on her face as she looked around at all the surprised genin, "I am going to be one of the examiners for the second test, the name's Anko Mitarashi, make sure you all remember it!"

Ibiki merely scowled as he saw Anko's overly flamboyant entrance, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the conspicuous absence of the other proctor for this stage of the exam. "Where's the other guy? Or have you already scared him off?"

Anko snorted at that, the chances of her scaring someone like Grimm off was laughable. "No he should be coming, he just refused to join me in my awesome entrance."

As if what she had said was prophetic, the second proctor chose that moment to open the door and walk in.

The minute she saw him Mito's breath hitched. It was Pain, or possibly Grimm if her hypothesis was correct.

Pain looked the same as he did before, with short hair and a muscular build. His eyes were distinctive in the fact that the irises were crimson red and yet the sclera were black. Half of his face was covered by a half mask, one which was quite similar to Kakashi's. Other than that his garb was like that of a normal Jounin, he was wearing black Shinobi pants, some kind of sleeveless shirt which showed his heavily muscled arms off, with a blue, Kiri Jounin's flak jacket over the top. Overall he looked distinctive, but other than his build and his height Mito was having trouble working out the similarities between Grimm and Pain, Grimm had worn, a full black outfit, with a hood and blank full face mask after all, this had made his eyes difficult to see.

"Finally caught up did you Grimmy?" Anko said cheerily.

The instant she said that Mito had frozen, it seems she was not the only one who thought that Grimm and Pain might be the same person. Turning to her left Mito watched as Sasuke seemed to sit up straighter, his eyes locked on Pain and his hands clenched into fists. Looking away from Sasuke, Mito could also see that the others who had been with her when they had been talking to Kabuto tensing. Even Kiba seemed to have picked up on the connection, now that Anko's taunting had drawn attention to it.

Standing next to Anko, Ibiki narrowed his eyes as he heard what the woman said. Glancing sideways he met Anko's gaze for a fraction of a second before he nodded his head in understanding. It appeared that this guy, Pain of Kiri, was actually the Grimm. As soon as he finished this portion of the test he would head to the Hokage's office to alert him to this if he wasn't already aware. The fact that an S-Class Shinobi, even an elusive one like Grimm, had been able to enter Konoha undetected was very worrying. Heads were going to roll for this fuck up, Ibiki was certain of that.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Entering the examination room Naruto ignored Anko's baiting as he instead looked at the crop of genin. As he surveyed the room his eyes lingered slightly on the forms of his sisters, Erza was glaring resolutely at him, her gaze stern and uncompromising, good she was just as strong and stubborn as he remembered her. Upon meeting Mito's gave though he quickly saw the caution and slight fear her eyes held, his stomach twisted as he saw that emotion in his precious sibling's eyes. At the same time though he wasn't surprised, he had made quite the first impression on Mito.

Looking away from Mito and Erza, Naruto instead glanced swiftly at Suigetsu, Hodan and Chojuro, making sure they hadn't fucked up and gotten kicked out at the first stage, because that would have been very annoying. Seeing that they hadn't, Naruto then sort out Kabuto, the boy who knew too much, and had purposefully caused him trouble, the little shit who Naruto thought was a spy.

Seeing the silver haired boy, Naruto made sure to burn the boy's soul into his memory. It would help with tracking him down in the Forest of Death after all. As he did this Naruto noticed that Kabuto held a smug little smile on his face, as if he knew he would be alright despite having pissed Naruto off. It appeared the boy vastly overestimated himself, or vastly underrated Naruto, either way he was in for a surprise.

"My name is Pain and I will be one of your proctors for the next stage of the exam." Naruto said softly as he looked away from the smug genin and instead surveyed the rest of the room, not missing the look Ibiki gave Anko as he did so. The moment he decided to be relatively honest he knew the knowledge of his presence would reach the Hokage how could it not. Fortunately though it would not matter much in the end, sure they could try and keep tabs on him with ANBU but Naruto was confident enough in his skills to know he could slip any tail they might want to give him.

"Right then now we are all caught up and introduced, get up!" Anko said with a smirk that had many of the genin wondering if they wouldn't be better quitting now. "I'll explain everything once we change places, let's go." she continued before she turned and walked out of the room, giving Ibiki a nod as she did so.

Watching her leave Naruto also turned to leave, giving Ibiki a nod of his own as he did so. Unlike Anko though, Naruto received a glare in return as Ibiki watched him leave, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Seeing their two proctors leaving the room, the group of remaining genin also got up and filed out of the room behind them.

 **( - )**

 **(At the Forest of Death)**

Naruto and Anko soon led the group of would be Chunin to where the next stage of the exam would be taking place. Turning around Naruto could see that all the genin had already assembled into their teams, all of them looking ready for what was to come. Well almost all of them, he could still see Mito sending him the occasional look.

Looking away from the genin, Naruto instead inspected the massive, gloomy looking forest behind him, one that was fenced up, giving most of the genin who looked at it a distinct feeling of apprehension. No doubt because the forest looked both dark and forbidding and had large metal fencing around it, fencing which had a number of 'no entry' and 'danger' signs visible on it.

"Welcome little genin to Training Ground 44, also known locally as 'The Forest of Death' and the stage for the second part of your Chunin Selection Exam! Very soon you'll be learning just why it's called that!" Anko said loudly as she spun on her heel and gave the genin a nasty grin.

Kiba Inuzuka, a short stocky youth, with spiky brown hair, a grey coat and red markings on his face snorted loudly at that, his canine companion Akamaru yipping in agreement as it sat at his feet. "The Forest of Death! Really is that the best you can come up with!"

Anko scowled as the brat spoke up, the Inuzuka boy really knew how to spoil the mood she was trying to create.

Naruto however smiled faintly, not at what the boy had said though, because at the moment the boy was all bark and no bite. No instead Naruto smiled as he saw the reaction his comments had. A number of the other waiting genin had turned to glare at the boy after hearing his comments. Kiba and his group had already made a scene when they were waiting for the first stage of the exam, treating the Chunin Exams like it was some kind of game. For the genin who had had to take this test more than once, the rookie genin's casual arrogance and nonchalance must really rub them the wrong way. The boy was now just digging a hole for himself, no doubt a lot of these genin would be gunning for the rookie genin now.

Speaking of the rookie genin quite a few of them were looking a bit annoyed at Kiba, it appeared Naruto wasn't the only one to see that the boy's words of false confidence were not having the affect he probably expected.

Looking back to Anko, Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he saw that an eerie smile had begun to spread across her face, her eyes closed as she turned to Kiba before saying in a cheery voice, "Yeah... you're spirited."

Kiba flinched a bit when he saw that smile directed at him.

Before the boy could react Anko then tossed a kunai at him, her blade slicing through the air and leaving a long bloody cut on Kiba's cheek. The Inuzuka's eyes were wide as he felt the sudden pain flaring from his cheek, before he could react though Anko had appeared behind him, her hand tightly clasping his shoulder as she whispered in the now petrified boy's ear.

"Kids like you end up dying first, hehehehe... spilling that red blood I so love." Anko whispered, her voice low and soft causing the boy to shiver.

Releasing her grip on the boy, Anko let him stumble forward, falling onto his hands and knees as he tried to scramble away from her as fast as he could. The boy was so freaked out he was not even paying attention to where he was going as he ended up nearly crashing into Naruto. He was stopped however by Naruto placing a sandaled foot on his back, pinning him to the ground. Eyes wide Kiba looked fearfully up at Naruto, his eyes widening as he met Naruto's own scarlet orbs.

"Stand up, shut up and stop being a little shit." Naruto said bluntly as he took a step back, allowing the boy to scramble to his feet and back away as fast as he could, retreating back to the safety of his team.

"'Stand up, shut up and stop being a little shit', that's the best you were able to come up with? Considering your whole ruthless and deadly rep I was expecting something a bit better." Anko said mockingly with a smirk.

Naruto shrugged in response, he wasn't the woman's performing monkey. He then cocked an eyebrow before nodding at something behind Anko, gaining the woman's attention as she twisted around another kunai in hand.

"Excuse me, you dropped this." A female Kusa genin with long black hair said as she stood a metre or so behind Anko, having been approaching the violet hair woman whilst her back was turned. No doubt hoping to return Anko's kunai, which she currently held with her tongue… and people thought the Outcasts were odd.

Anko scowled as she watched Kusa genin approach, having not sensed her approaching until just before Pain had indicated something was behind her. Cautiously reaching out to take her kunai back, Anko said, "That was a dangerous stunt there. I could have killed you just now for that."

"My apologies. I'll be sure to watch my step with you next time." The Kusa genin replied sweetly as she returned the kunai and left.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched the girl from Kusagakure walk away. Something about that girl was wrong he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but something about her did not sit right with him.

"Do you want to get on with the explanation then Anko?" Naruto said abruptly, tearing his gaze away from the girl, and instead looking over at Anko, getting a nod and a smirk from the slightly older woman as he did so.

"Easy there tiger, there is no need to rush. Well anyway, listen up you lot, this portion of the exam is a field exam. All of you will be inside this forest for five days," Anko started giving Naruto a wink before she turned to look around at the genin, once again getting into her role of proctor now that the disruptive miscreant had been dealt with.

After her little display before none of the other genin dared to interrupt her, even if a few of them did look a bit put out about having to be in a forest for five days.

Reaching into the pocket of her coat Anko pulled out two small and compact scrolls, one of them with the kanji for 'earth' on it, and the other one with the kanji for 'heaven.' Raising her hand she made sure all the watching genin could see the scrolls.

"Each team gets one of these, and you're to get the opposite from an opposing team. By any means necessary," Anko said as she looked around at the watching genin, reaching into her pocket she then held up a bunch of papers with her other hand. "These are release forms that dismisses any charges against Konoha for whatever will or might happen to all of you. After all, none of you want to see me get into any trouble, right? Sign these forms, and exchange them for the scroll in this booth," Anko said and started passing out the forms, before she nonchalantly gestured at a small booth that two Konoha chunin were setting up behind her. "You have twenty minutes to consider whether or not you'll risk your lives here and sign the forms. Then come one team at a time."

"So," One of the Oto Shinobi began, the man in question having multiple bandages on his face, a strange metal gauntlet on his right arm and a heavy cloak around his shoulders. "In other words, killing is allowed in this part of the exams, correct?"

Anko retorted, "Didn't you hear me the first time? You're to get the opposite scroll from an opposing team by any means necessary. Me and Pain over there will be in the forest but we are not going to stop you from killing each other. Our job as proctors of the exam is to stop any of you receiving any external assistance."

Naruto turned to give the genin a deadpan look as he heard that, his red eyed gaze moving over the assembled genin making the weaker and meeker genin flinch. Some though like Mito, Erza, Sasuke and a couple of other genin, notably including a Hyuuga boy and his team mates, one of whom greatly resembled Maito Guy, whilst the other was a pretty brown haired girl, it these genin that did not look away they met his gaze and instead held strong.

With Anko's explanation done the genin went to sign the forms and get their scrolls, and after barely five minutes, all of the genin teams had signed the forms and had their respective scrolls in hands. All of them ready to start the next stage of their examination.

"Finally, everyone have their scrolls. Good now the fence around the forest has 44 gates, which you will pass through. In the center of the forest, about six miles from the gates, there is a tower. All of you must make your way there within five days with both scrolls. You have each been assigned a gate number. Go to your assigned gate and wait for it to open. That will be the start of the second exam," Anko explained.

Naruto turned to watch as all of the genin hurried to their assigned gates. Looking away from their retreating backs, he then glanced over at Anko. "So what is the plan, you take one side of the forest I take the other?"

Anko shrugged in response, "We could do it that way I suppose. Would probably be better if we just freestyle it, just keep moving and tracking down the teams, don't interfere just make sure they are not being helped by their Jounin or something."

"And if they are?" Naruto asked blandly.

"Then they are disqualified, let them continue to take part in this stage of the exam, but as soon as they reach the tower in the centre we tell them they failed." Anko replied before she causally went through some stretches, shifting her body around as she prepared to shoot off into the forest. "By the way, as much fun as I am sure it will be, try not to kill any of the genin."

Naruto turned to look into the forest as he heard that, his lips quirking upwards in a crooked grin. "Oh I will try…"

 **( - )**

 **(Thirty Minutes Later in the Forest of Death)**

Kabuto shifted uncomfortably as he led his team through the forest. By rights he shouldn't be feeling this way, he was after all in his own mind an elite Jounin level Shinobi, who had been trained personally by Orochimaru of the Sannin. He was so beyond the level of an ordinary genin it was laughable, yet here he was feeling distinctly nervous as he led his two teammates through he thickly wooded forest.

His two teammates were nothing special, two Konoha rejects who had failed to make the big leagues and had been seduced into following Lord Orochimaru by promises of power and status. The two of them were fools, yet greater men than them had been taken in by Orochimaru's silver tongued promises, just look at the Kazekage. The man was willing to betray his alliance with Konoha and join Orochimaru in invading the Leaf Village, all for the promise of greater status as a Village and an influx of contracts, wealthy and new bloodlines, whether he Orochimaru would be that generous with him though was debatable. The same of course could be said for that foolish woman Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, he didn't know what the woman was playing at by sending Pain here but she was an idiot if she thought she could refuse Lord Orochimaru, under his guise of the Otokage he had approached her and laid out the basics of his plan, she had agreed, that was all there was to it, she would stick by her agreement or she would die.

Speaking of Kabuto's master, he had not spoken to him since before the Chunin Exams had started. Yes even so he knew he was here in the forest, after all the young Uchiha boy, Sasuke, was here in the forest and Orochimaru wanted him. Sasuke had the Sharingan after all, a bloodline that Orochimaru was most interested in possessing. It was the reason why he had infiltrated the forest, so he could track the boy down and give him a little gift, something that would ensure the idiot boy would come to him.

Still though Kabuto didn't know where Orochimaru was, no doubt his master had kept his distance in case Kabuto was being watched. After all Kabuto had made a bigger spectacle of himself than he had planned, he had revealed Grimm's identity hoping to scupper any plans the Mizukage had, after all Orochimaru already had a strategy for the invasion of Konoha, all Mei Terumi had to do is what she was told and then Konoha would fall. Shifting uncomfortably again Kabuto looked around at the surrounding forest, his eyes narrowed as he tried to sense anyone.

"Come on you two hurry up. We need to grab a heaven scroll and get to the tower as soon as possible." Kabuto said as he glanced at his two accomplices.

"Aww is Kabuto getting nervous?" Yoroi Akado mocked, the boy was in his early twenties and had a real chip on his shoulder. His attitude annoyed Kabuto, but at the same time he knew he had to deal with it for the moment.

Kabuto's glasses flashed as he looked over at his companion, "Don't annoy me Yoroi."

"Or what you'll tell your master on us?" Misumi Tsurugi, Kabuto's other teammate said a she joined in, like Yoroi, Misumi was in his early twenties and had a really bad attitude about stilling being a genin. "You need to grow up Kabuto and stop running to your master liked an obedient little puppy."

Kabuto's once again had to hold back his annoyance, before he could retort though his sharp hearing picked up a sudden creaking sound like a wooden branch straining very slightly. It was very faint, so faint in fact Kabuto was sure he would have missed it if he hadn't been paying attention. "Shut up you two, I think there is someone here." Kabuto whispered harshly.

"Good, it is about time I get to spill a little blood." Yoroi replied a sharp grin on his face as he looked around at the surrounding trees.

"I hear tha- " Misumi made to reply, before he was cut off a black shadowed blur shot from one of the trees, a gleaming silver arc following after. Misumi never had a chance to finish his comment as a few seconds after opening his mouth his decapitated head fell onto the floor of the forest, the head's flesh already looking grey as is desiccated before Kabuto's eyes.

"Misumi!" Yoroi shouted as he spun around to face the blur, both of his hands covered up in a blue glow as he used his technique, one which was based around draining another Shinobi's chakra and reusing the stolen power for himself.

Kabuto didn't even bother to warn the man as he saw their attacker lunge forward, a greyish, barbed chakra chain exploding from their assailant's bare right shoulder and shooting towards the surprised genin. Yoroi shouted out in shock and fear as he tried to dodge the rapid chakra chain as it speared towards him, his hands desperately extended in front of him as if he hoped to siphon off the chakra from the chain.

He didn't even have the chance to scream as the chakra chain impaled him through the chest and slammed into a tree three feet behind where Yoroi's now dead body was standing. As Kabuto watched on he could see Yoroi's flesh and clothing rotting, along with the tree behind him. It was as if time had been fast forwarded on anything that grey chakra touched, Kabuto could only liken it to rapid decomposition. It was as if the chakra devoured life itself, Kabuto could only watch on in morbid fascination as their attack ripped the chakra chain out of Yoroi's dead body, allow it to collapse to the ground.

Glancing around at the surrounding trees, Kabuto immediately decided running away was not an option. His attacker was the Grimm after all, an experienced Hunter-nin who had apparently never failed to track down and kill his target. In comparison Kabuto was first and foremost a medic-nin, sure he was very talented with the other Shinobi arts but even he couldn't hope to beat an experienced Hunter-nin in that they specialized in.

"You must be feeling like a big man. A Jounin attacking a group of genin, and why because a genin hurt your feelings?" Kabuto said, drawing on his own chakra as he prepared to fight. He may specialize as a medic-nin but he still deemed himself as one of Orochimaru's strongest, probably stronger than Kakashi ever was.

"That would be true, if you were a genin." Pain said as he rolled his shoulders and took a few practice swings with his axe, his feet firmly rooted to the ground, from initial observation it looked like he was prepared to spring forward at any moment.

Kabuto took all this in, in a moment as he bent his knees, prepared to spring back the moment Pain made a move. "And what makes you think I am not a genin?"

Pain cocked his head to the side in response, two grey chakra chains slowly protruding from his shoulders, hovering over him like snakes about to strike.

Seeing them Kabuto tensed his eyes sharpened, and his hands flaring up with chakra as he activated his chakra scalpels. A medic-nin technique that can be used in combat to sever muscles and destroy internal organs with ease. Kabuto was very skilled at using this technique in combat. Kabuto then shifted his posture, his hands held up and ready for anything, this fight was going to be no joke, it was going to be hard and deadly, and he couldn't make a single mistake.

Pain's chakra chains twitch, and his body then lowered to the ground, his grip on his axe tightening, he was about to strike, and he did. Though not in the way Kabuto was expecting, his attention had been so focused on Pain and what he was doing that he had neglected to pay attention to anything else. Which is why he was so surprised when a pair of chakra chains exploded from the ground at his feet, the chains instantly binding onto Kabuto's legs, the attached barbs digging into his flesh.

Kabuto let out a loud shout of pain as he felt the chains clasp onto him. At firs the attempted to escape, either by using a Shunshin or by using a Body Replacement Technique, but he soon found he couldn't. Pain's chakra wasn't just eating through his flesh it was also devouring his chakra.

Looking up Kabuto's eyes widened as he saw the ground between him and Pain exploded as the rest of the chains erupted forth, revealing that they had initially come from the soles of Pain's feet and had burrowed their way through the ground before striking at him whilst the was distracted by what Pain was visibly doing.

Letting out another shout of pain, Kabuto looked down and saw that the chains had already eaten through the flesh and muscle on his legs and more than that they had entwined themselves around the rest of his lower body. Widening his eyes as he saw this Kabuto quickly began to try and heal the damage, using his own prodigious skill as a medic-nin to repair the damage. It was for naught though, Pain's chakra was eating through Kabuto's flesh faster than Kabuto could heal it, more than that though was the fact that Pain's chakra was also destroying Kabuto's chakra.

Looking up Kabuto was just in time to see Pain appear in front to of him, the chains around Kabuto's legs dispersing for a moment, before the chains protruding from Pain's shoulder ensnared him again, the chains lifting him off the ground as they cruelly and agonizingly wrapped around his upper body.

The last thing Kabuto ever saw was Pain's burning scarlet eyes.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So that is the chapter I know some people might have been expecting an epic confrontation or fight, but quite frankly Naruto was out of Kabuto's league and his abilities were so unique that Kabuto never really stood much of a chance. Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I had a good time writing it.**

 **Now though things will start moving quickly as the Chunin Exams advance and Mei makes her decision. Suffice to say I think I have got a very unique idea for what will happen at the Chunin Exams.**

 **Not sure when the next chapter will be out as I don't want to neglect my other stories, that being said I am quite enthused about this story at the moment.**

 **Please leave a comment or a review and I will see you all next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: So here is the next chapter have to say I was once again blown away by the amount of support I got last chapter so I decided to get this one out as quickly as I could. That being said there are a few things briefly mentioned in this that are going to be very important to the plot.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoy a chapter and leave a comment or a review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto etc.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Pain's chakra chains twitch, and his body then lowered to the ground, his grip on his axe tightening, he was about to strike, and he did. Though not in the way Kabuto was expecting, his attention had been so focused on Pain and what he was doing that he had neglected to pay attention to anything else. Which is why he was so surprised when a pair of chakra chains exploded from the ground at his feet, the chains instantly binding onto Kabuto's legs, the attached barbs digging into his flesh._

 _Kabuto let out a loud shout of pain as he felt the chains clasp onto him. At firs the attempted to escape, either by using a Shunshin or by using a Body Replacement Technique, but he soon found he couldn't. Pain's chakra wasn't just eating through his flesh it was also devouring his chakra._

 _Looking up Kabuto's eyes widened as he saw the ground between him and Pain exploded as the rest of the chains erupted forth, revealing that they had initially come from the soles of Pain's feet and had burrowed their way through the ground before striking at him whilst the was distracted by what Pain was visibly doing._

 _Letting out another shout of pain, Kabuto looked down and saw that the chains had already eaten through the flesh and muscle on his legs and more than that they had entwined themselves around the rest of his lower body. Widening his eyes as he saw this Kabuto quickly began to try and heal the damage, using his own prodigious skill as a medic-nin to repair the damage. It was for naught though, Pain's chakra was eating through Kabuto's flesh faster than Kabuto could heal it, more than that though was the fact that Pain's chakra was also destroying Kabuto's chakra._

 _Looking up Kabuto was just in time to see Pain appear in front to of him, the chains around Kabuto's legs dispersing for a moment, before the chains protruding from Pain's shoulder ensnared him again, the chains lifting him off the ground as they cruelly and agonizingly wrapped around his upper body._

 _The last thing Kabuto ever saw was Pain's burning scarlet eyes._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 18**

 **( - )**

 **(In the Forest of Death)**

There was not even a flicker of emotion in Naruto's cold, crimson eyes as he watched Kabuto's body fall to the floor with a soft thud. The silver haired boy's skin rapidly greying and desiccating as he collapsed forward, his gaze blank and empty. It had been almost embarrassingly easy to track down and kill this group, so much so that it had seriously made Naruto concerned about whether or not he did just wipe out a group of genin. Not that he would lose much sleep over it if he had, Kabuto had been a little shit revealing Naruto's secrets like he had and as for the other two… well he didn't know enough about them to judge, but they were probably pretty shit people too.

Looking away from Kabuto's desiccating remains, Naruto instead looked at the two other dead bodies in the clearing, the bodies of Kabuto's now dead teammates. Naruto grinned to himself as he could already see the small, wispy glowing orbs that represented a beings soul, floating over their corpses. Shrugging to himself Naruto walked over to each of the bodies and with a deft had scooped up the souls before he devoured them, savoring the taste of yet more souls.

He was a bit peckish after all he had been subsisting off of the souls of animals for the last few days now, which was less than pleasant and barely sustained him. Even so he could cope with having a poor diet if it meant his mission succeeded, it wasn't like he could just start picking Konoha citizens off the street, such disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed.

Whislt he was enjoying his mid-afternoon snack, Naruto decided to speak with You. He had after all hunted down Kabuto for a reason. 'So were we right about that Kabuto, was he a spy or was he just a nosy little shit who couldn't keep his mouth shut?'

 **( - )**

 **(In You's Domain)**

Within Naruto's own soul You stirred, his crimson eyes opening as he stood up from where he was sitting in the centre of his and Naruto's soul, ignoring everything else as he found Kabuto's soul orb floating around, his eyes gleaming with childlike curiosity as he grabbed it before he began to carefully examine it.

" **Wait a second and I will have little look."** You replied back to Naruto, his look of curiosity turning to revulsion as he continued to inspect Kabuto's soul, noting as he did how dark and twisted it was. **"I can't say for sure whether he was a spy yet, but looking at his soul I can tell you he was one fucked up little shit."**

'Really?' Naruto questioned, his voice echoing around You's domain without a sound he appeared in front of You, his outer body now on autopilot as he retreated into You's domain, an amused smile on his face as he saw the incredulous look You threw him.

" **Oh wow I am honoured, you don't normally visit me…"** You drawled as he looked up at Naruto incredulously, before dismissing him and going back to what he was doing before, toying about with Kabuto's soul, his hands glowing with greyish blue chakra as he began to manipulate it like a normal Shinobi would manipulate the elements.

Naruto ignored his inner self's sarcasm, having become very used to it over the years, instead he looked at the soul You was currently playing with a look of interest making its way across his face. Looking closer Naruto was able to see just what You meant before about Kabuto being twisted and dark, where a pure humans soul was a light blue colour free of corruption, Kabuto's soul was distinctly corrupted, with dozens of dark marks staining his soul. It wasn't the worst he had ever seen, but it was up there. 'Can't say I envy you having to go through his memories.'

" **Meh you have your interests I have mine. I generally quite like going through memories of the sickos. It makes it that much sweeter when I torture them, plus their memories are usually far more entertaining those though shitty films people make now, what was it called the Princess Gale Sage or something?"** You replied his own red and black eyes twinkling maliciously as he sat down on the floor, cross his legs as he looked up at Naruto.

"You're a real sadist as anyone ever told you that?" Naruto replied blandly not commenting on the film You mentioned as he instead looked out over the vast landscape that made up his own soul, watching in interest as hundreds of shadowy shapes moved around both human and animal. There were he noticed, more humans in the hell side of his soul than there was in the heaven. But considering the majority of the souls he had eaten had come from Shinobi it was probably not all that surprising.

" **Not really, but to be fair disembodied souls are not the greatest of conversationalists."** You replied in amusement as he continued to toy around with Kabuto's soul, not even glancing at his surroundings, after all this was his domain.

Ignoring his surroundings for the moment, Naruto instead bent down and scooped up the souls of the other two genin he had killed, noticed the spots of darkness that infested their souls as he did so. It appeared he had been correct, these two were obviously not the most pleasant of people, more than that though they were probably grunts, cannon fodder which allowed Kabuto the real spy to go undetected. With a sigh Naruto flung them away, casting them into the hell where they would remain until Naruto used them, died or he released them.

'You know we can always swap places for a bit if you want. You can take over the body for a bit and I can lounge around here playing with souls and watching the highlights from their memories?' Naruto said as he turned back to look at his horned alter ego, a thoughtful look on his face as he thought about some of the amusing and interesting things, that the Shinobi he had defeated had probably experienced.

" **Pass!"** You said quickly as he glanced up at Naruto again, his expression telling Naruto he wasn't at all interested in swapping their current positons, **"I am happy doing my own thing, dealing with those pedants outside just seems so… boring."**

'You're also quite antisocial you now, I mean come on a bit of time outside might do you some good. I may even let you cut loose during the invasion if you want?' Naruto said with a grin as he turned away from the hell side of their domain and instead looked out over the much nicer looking heaven side. Smiling as he saw a flock of avian souls flying overhead.

" **You know I can always kick you out of here don't you? I am the inner you and you are the outer me."** You replied irritably, less than pleased at how pushy Naruto was being, before a sudden grin spread across his face. **"Though I wouldn't mind it if you start reading a few of those Icha Icha books, that Jiraiya guy wrote, you know the erotica?."**

Naruto gave You an incredulous look at that, this was the last thing he was expecting to hear.

You seeing the look gave Naruto a grin a soft chuckle leaving his mouth. **"What can I say Kakashi didn't just have memories of jutsu, he also had memories of reading those books and I have to admit the storyline is really good?"**

'Of course it is… perv…' Naruto replied with a grin and a loud chuckle of his own, who knew, even when he was dead Kakashi was still being a bad influence..

" **Hey I blame you. We seriously need a girlfriend, and you are more goddamn oblivious than Minaka from Icha Icha is when Kushirou is chasing after him."** You commented a bit embarrassed as he saw how Naruto was looking at him when he made up an analogy based off of an erotica novel's storyline, so much so that he stopped manipulating Kabuto's soul and instead deliberately avoided eye contact with his outer self.

'You do realise that those characters are based off of our mother and father…?' Naruto said with a wince. 'You know Minaka and Kushirou is actually Minato and Kushina…"

" **No they're not their names are completely different. Besides stopping avoiding the real topic here. We need a girlfriend."** You replied as he looked back at Naruto, trying not to think about what Naruto had just said. Technically speaking they may not have given birth to You, but You still considered them his sort of parents, after all he felt what Naruto felt and remembered what Naruto remembered.

'I did not know you were into voyeurism…' Naruto said blandly, sidestepping You comment once again. It wasn't that he didn't want to find a girlfriend, it was just that he didn't want to get into it right now and with You, the guy could be a real dick sometimes.

" **Piss off."** You replied with a snort of laughter. **"But being serious you should go back, we are in the middle of the Forest of Death after all and our body is on autopilot…"**

'True, true" Naruto said agreeably, before he took one last look around, glancing at a colossal shadowy soul that was chained down in the distance as he did so, before he turned back to You a serious look on his face. 'How long do you reckon it will take to get all of Kabuto's memories and knowledge?'

" **Couple of hours for me to get as much as I can out of him, maybe longer. For now though I will focus on the short term memories, I will share them with you when I find them."** You replied with a nod as he deicded to get serious.

'Nice one.' Naruto commented as he gave the ominous shadow in the distance one last look before he turned back to You with a grin. 'Speak to you later, You. Things are moving quickly and I think this upcoming invasion is going to be an all you can eat buffet'

" **Yeah, yeah piss off?"** You replied with a slight grin spreading across his face before he turned his attention back to manipulating Kabuto's soul.

 **( - )**

 **(In the Forest of Death)**

Opening his eyes a moment later Naruto's sharp eyes glanced around the clearing, checking to see if anyone had snuck up on him whilst his body was on autopilot. Confirming to himself that they hadn't, he then sealed his axe back into the storage seal tattooed on his wrist and leapt into a nearby tree, easily landing on the branch as he surveyed the area.

Now he had hunted down Kabuto he might as well get on with his latest task being the proctor for the second Stage of the Chunin Exam, at least until You had gone through Kabuto's memories and discovered if he had any information on the upcoming invasion, or any information at all really that might benefit Kiri.

Shifting his head Naruto cast out his senses, easily locking in on the souls of the genin closest to him, this was likely going to be troublesome.

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha)**

"Minato what are we going to do, now that we know Grimm is in Konoha how do you want to approach it?" Kushina asked in concern as she looked over at her husband, who had a frown on his face as he sat behind his desk, his hands clasped in front of him as he surveyed the room.

Currently both Minato and Kushina along with Shikaku Naru, Inoichi Yamanaka, Jiraiya, Ibiki Morino Choza Akimichi, Hiashi Hyuuga, Tsume Inuzuka and a number of other Shinobi, including his main advisors and the Heads of some of the most prominent Shinobi Clans.

At the moment they were all crammed in the Hokage's office large office in the centre of Konoha, discussing the revelation that Pain of Kiri was in fact the Hunter-nin, Grimm. But more importantly discussing the fact that Grimm, a dangerous Shinobi that had been labeled S-Class and had been given a tremendously high bounty by Konoha, was now in Konoha itself.

And if that was not bad enough that same dangerous Shinobi was also currently in the Forest of Death acting as a proctor for the second stage of the Chunin Exam. This put him in very close proximity to where the heirs and children of a number of Konoha's most influential Shinobi Clans were, including the Hokage's own daughters and the last Uchiha. Suffice to say tensions were running high and everyone had something they wanted to say, currently the meeting had been going on for a while now and the assembled group was no closer to coming to a conclusion on what actions should be taken.

"There is not much we can really do." Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin and Minato's old Sensei spoke up. A scowl prominent on his broad features as he idly scratching his chin in thought. "We can't kill him, he is too prominent a Shinobi to just make disappear. More than that though, things between Kiri are tense enough as it is, and with Iwa and Kumo still being as militarized and hostile to Konoha as they are, the last thing we need is to make an enemy of another one of the Great Villages. The last thing we want is for the Fourth Shinobi Wat to begin, not when we have been enjoying nearly two decades of relative peace."

"So you would just let such a dangerous Shinobi walk through the Village?" Ibiki asked gruffly as he turned to look at Jiraiya, any deference he might have held for the esteemed Toad Sage was currently forgotten as he got down to the crux of the issue. "He is a dangerous and potentially hostile Shinobi that we just allowed to waltz in through our gates."

"He didn't say that we should do nothing." Shikaku, Shikamaru's father and Minato's closet advisor said as he gave Ibiki a bored look, showing the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department just what he thought of his jumping to conclusions. "All he said is that we can't kill him or get rid of him. What we can do is put some ANBU tails on him and make sure to keep an eye on him 24/7 whilst he is Konoha."

"The boy's a Hunter-nin though, he can most likely slip all but the best ANBU operatives, and with the Chunin Exams going on do we really have our best operatives to spare?" Inoichi said thoughtfully, looking around the room for a response.

"It is better safe than sorry when dealing with Shinobi like this kid. I say we make sure to keep an eye on him for now, whilst we are doing that though we should send a message to the Mizukage and ask her to withdraw him." Jiraiya said loudly, getting the attention of the rest of the room on him as he did so. The last thing Jiraiya wanted was for someone to rush into things and make a stupid move, it could cause a lot of trouble for Konoha.

Kushina snorted loudly at that. "As if she would do it just because we asked her too! I think you overestimate the influence Konoha has, especially now Kiri has become so powerful, already it is rivalling Kumo and probably stronger than Iwa."

"Is there any possibility that we can legally arrest and detain him until he Chunin Exams are over, or until the Mizukage takes him back?" Inoichi asked as he looked over to his friend Shikaku for an answer.

"Well we could arrest him but we would need a reason to do so, and so far he has not committed a crime in Konoha that we know of. We could arrest him for killing Kakashi but that wouldn't work either, the two of them met in a neutral country, it could have been different if they had fought in Fire Country, there could have been more room for us to claim he was illegally operating in our territory." Shikaku said with a shrug, his eyes closed as he though on the issues Pain's presence brought. "It's troublesome but I agree with Jiraiya. The best we can do is keep an eye on him. Besides I don't think he will cause any trouble, I am not sure why he is here in Konoha but I don't think it is necessarily to cause trouble. Kiri themselves have just come out of a Civil War a couple of years ago, I very much doubt they are hankering for an even big war."

"Could we not just frame him for a crime and use that as justification to arrest or kill him?" Ibiki asked bluntly, pondering about maybe killing off a Shinobi from another Village and pinning the death on Pain. It was not an honourable thing to do, but fuck honour, honour was for samurais and chumps.

"No." Shikaku said as he gave Ibiki another bored look. "All it would take is for Kiri to prove he was innocent and it could backfire on Konoha badly."

Ibiki grunted irritably at that.

"What do you think Minato?" Kushina asked again, as she ignored the rest of the Shinobi in the room, all of whom continued to discuss possible ways to deal with the S-Class Shinobi in their Village. Some of the ideas becoming more and more ludicrous than the next as they bounced around ideas and just generally argued with each other.

"For now…" Minato began, the rest of the room becoming quiet as they turned to hear what their Hokage had to say. "For now we will place Grimm under surveillance and try and work out why he is here. We will also increase security around Konoha, I want every active Shinobi ready to act at a moment's notice. I am not sure what the Mizukage is up to and I want Konoha prepared for any eventuality. If or when the Mizukage comes to Konoha, depending on whether her team advances, then I will have a face to face discussion with her. Like what Jiraiya said I don't want things to escalate, the loss of Kakashi although devastating should not be used as an excuse to start a meaningless war, to do so would be to dishonor his memory and the memory of all the other Shinobi who have died so Konoha could remain safe and prosperous.".

"What happens if it is a ploy by Kiri and they attack Konoha during the Chunin Exams, or use Grimm's presence here as an opportunity to steal one of our bloodlines or assassinate you?" Kushina asked in concern a sshe thought back on the issues with Kumo a few years back, when several Kumo Shinobi had attempted to make off with the Hyuuga Heiress, and many years before when the Kumo Shinobi had attempted to kidnap her when she was still a child, in the world they live in attempted abductions of bloodlines were not rare.

Also she still had mixed feelings regarding Pain. A part of her felt drawn to him as a person, just as that same part of her found to be both him funny and likeable. Yet at the same time another part of her was angry at him for endangering her daughters and wanted to punish him for killing Kakashi.

"Then we kill him." Minato said bluntly as he looked around the room at the gathered Shinobi. "If he poses a genuine threat then we end him. Konoha cannot be seen to be weak, if it is our clients will lose confidence in us and the other Villages will being to circle us like vultures. If Pain attempts something we kill make an example of him, and then the Mizukage will be the one put on the spot."

"As you say Lord Hokage." Jiraiya said with a nod of his head. "I will do It myself if I have too."

 **( - )**

 **(Back in the Forest of Death)**

Erza groaned as she pushed herself to her feet, her head was ringing and her back was aching. She had no idea not know what the hell just happened. One minute she and the rest of her team, Mito and Sasuke, had been running through the Forest of Death. Already they had been in the Forest of Death for nearly an hour and had already gained two scrolls, unfortunately though those scrolls had been 'earth', the same as their own was, which meant they had to keep looking.

As they had been moving through the forest, they had been using Mito's sensory abilities, which were far more advanced than Erza's, to track down other teams so they could get their scroll and hopefully finish this stage of the exam fast so they could rest up for the next stage whatever it might be. It had been as they were passing through an innocuous part of the forest that they had been attack, from out of nowhere the three of them had been blindsided by a sudden powerful wind jutsu. Erza herself had been struck full on and had been blown here, who had attacked them and what happened to her teammates though she had no idea.

As Erza pulled herself together, getting to her feet and stretching her aching limbs. She quickly became aware of a large presence coming up behind her. She could hear the leaves on the forest floor shifting and rustling, just as she could hear a distance hissing sound getting closer and closer.

Twisting around her crimson hair flying out behind her, Erza quickly used her Uzumaki Bloodline, forming her two golden blades made of pure chakra in her hands as she naturally fell into a perfect fighting stance, her twin blades held at the ready, both blades held parallel to each other as she prepared to duel wield them.

Erza's fierce brown eyes soon fell on her opponent, her gaze sharpening as she saw a pair of large yellow eyes and slitted pupils looming form out of the forest. The head of gigantic serpent soon following, as the beast came into full view, rearing up above her with a loud hissing sound.

The snake was huge, possibly thirty feet in length, with gleaming ivory coloured fangs, and thick lime green scales. Its sickly yellow, slitted eyes were the size of dinner plates and its fangs almost as big as Erza was herself. The snake's tongue slithered out, its forked end tasting the air for vibrations, heat and various other things to take stock of the prey it had within its sights. Erza leapt back as she saw the snake's mouth open fully, a great and cavernous maw, a pair of fangs which dripped with venom more than prominent as it reared above her before it prepared to lunge directly at her.

The strike was swift and without warning, despite that though Erza managed to avoid it as she threw herself backwards, her eyes widening at both the snakes speed and at the strength at which it struck, as the patch of ground she had been standing upon had been turned into a small crater. This was not a normal snake.

Erza's eyes narrowed as she glared at the snake, before with a grunt she leapt into the air, jumping over the snake's thick muscly tail as it swept it around behind her, attempting to wrap it around Erza, not doubt so it could crush her to death. Gripping her blades tighter, Erza drew on small amounts of the Kyuubi's chakra, grimacing to herself as she felt it corrosive power merging with her own. Still though she also felt the rush that that sudden power gave her, making her stronger, faster, heightening her senses and sharpening her reflexes.

Keeping her attention locked on the snake, Erza's brown eyes bled scarlet, the irises become a blood red colour as the pupil turned into a slit. Her own canines also elongated, becoming more prominent as they poked out below her lip. Her crimson hair became a lot wilder and shaggier to as she felt the Kyuubi's potent power influence her body. These were all the outward signs of her drawing on a fraction of the Kyuubi's power.

With a loud yell Erza shot forward, her blades held at her side and her eyes fixed unerringly on the snake, which upon seeing her charge had reared back once again, making a loud hissing sound as t prepared to strike. As Erza closed on it the snake lunged forward its fangs bared and its gaping maw open wide, the serpents strike was as fast as before, unfortunately for it though, Erza was now much faster than before.

As she closed in on the striking snake, Erza didn't flinch, instead she increased her pace, getting in under the striking snakes guard. Her right chakra forged blade piercing its thick hide like a hot knife through butter as it tore a great gaping wound down the monstrous snake's side. Not hesitating for a second, Erza pushed herself onto the snakes writhing body and ran up its scaly hide.

With a loud shout Erza slashed with her blades again, not giving the giant snake a chance to react as this time she sued both blades, cutting through the snakes hide and muscle, extending her blades as she did so. The two blades made of her chakra were each now nearly five feet in length as followed through with her attack, sheering through the snake's broad muscly neck, killing it instantly.

Pushing herself off of the now headless snake's bodies, Erza's eyes once again turning back to their usual colour as she released her hold on the Kyuubi's chakra, falling back to the ground and landing firmly on her feet as she did so. Turning back to look at the snake's dead body, her eyes widened as she saw the body exploded into a cloud of smoke, proving that she had been right, this was not a normal snake but instead had been a high-level summoning.

"A snake summoning?" Erza muttered to herself as she watched the cloud smoke disperse. She only knew of two people who could summon snakes. One of which was Anko, who might be a bit mischievous and sadistic, but who Erza trusted enough to know wouldn't send such a strong summon to attack her, especially when she was in the middle of such an important exam. The only other snake summoner she knew of though was Orochimaru, a traitor to the Village of Konoha and someone who from what Erza had heard would be more than capable and willing to do her harm. Still though what would the Konoha's most infamous traitor be doing in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, and also where was Mito and Sasuke, the rest of her team?

Erza's eyes widened at that though, twisting around on the spot, her gaze fixed on the surrounding forest. Erza soon found what she was looking for, a trail of broken branches and damaged trees, likely caused by the wind jutsu that had sent her flying. Now she just needed to trace the path of destruction back to its source, and hopefully she would find the rest of her team.

With that in mind Erza leapt up into the trees and began to head in the direction she had come from, she could only hope that Mito and to a lesser extent Sasuke were alright.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto around the same time)**

It had been about an hour since Naruto had killed Kabuto and devoured his soul. And currently he was tree hopping, casually leaping from branch to branch as he rapidly passed through the Forest of Death. So far You had been as good as his word and had been going through Kabuto's memories as speedily and carefully as he could, passing on what the boy knew to Naruto, and damn did the kid know a lot.

It turned out Naruto had been right, Kabuto was a spy and an absolute goldmine of information as well.

First off Kabuto was one of Orochimaru's closest servants and his most trusted spy. Orochimaru wasn't just Kabuto's master though, he was also the mysterious Otokage who had visited Mei and the driving power behind the invasion plan.

The sheer fact that Orochimaru, a known traitor and all round scumbag, had any involvement in the invasion plan instantly had Naruto on edge, the man was a snake and Naruto had little doubt he would stab Kiri in the back the first chance he got. Suffice to say Naruto would be passing on the Otokage's identity onto Mei along with the summary of his plan as well as the location of Otogakure and the sizes of their forces, the first chance he got.

Also he would make sure to tell her that Orochimaru was hoping to unleash the Suna Jinchurriki during the Chunin Exam Finals and use the boy not just to cause as much damage chaos as he could to Konoha, but as the signal to the full forces of Oto and Suna to start the attack. Mei would defiantly want to be informed that a mentally unsound Jinchuuriki would be involved, she didn't after all have the best experience when it came to insane Jinchuuriki.

On top of this Naurto would ensure she knew that Orochimaru was planning on using a forbidden jutsu to revive the former Hokages and use them as weapons to kill Minato Namikaze and anyone else that got in his way. The plan itself when Naruto looked at it objectively was not bad, and had a possibility of working if done right, Naruto could see that much and would pass his own opinion on the plan itself to Mei, but at the same time the involvement of Orochimaru had him on edge, he hadn't ever met the man but his reputation was bad enough that it made Naruto instantly suspicious.

Kabuto of course had more information than just that, as even now Naruto was finding out more and more about Orochimaru's experiments, the forbidden techniques he knew and had developed and the locations of nearly a dozen of his bases dotted around the Elemental Nations. Naruto would also pass this information on as well, Orochimaru might be a sick fuck, but some of his experiments and projects could be useful to Kiri.

The most prominent thing Kabuto seemed to know about Orochimaru though was the man's obsession with attaining immortality, to the point at which he had learned how to transfer soul into other bodies, which was a jutsu Naruto was particularly interested in. And already Orochimaru seemed to have his next potential body lined up, the young Uchiha boy, Sasuke. Apparently Orochimaru was almost as obsessed with the Sharingan and leanrig all the jutsu in the world as he was with avoiding death.

Naruto paused for a second as he landed on another branch, his eyes closing as You transferred yet more to him. This time though what he received wasn't about the Konoha invasion or about Orochimaru at all. It was about an infamous Missing-nin, one who came from Suna who went by the name of Sasori of the Red Sand. Naruto had heard of him before, the man was an exceptionally skilled and dangerous S-Class Shinobi who specialized in Puppeteering and apparently Kabuto was one of his many spies. Kabuto did not know a huge amount about the man, but what little he did know was very interesting.

Sasori had apparently joined a powerful, secret organization called the Akatsuki, now Kabuto didn't know much about them, but what he did know was that the organisation was made up of multiple S-Class Shinobi and that they had a vested interest in hunting down Jinchuuriki. This would not normally bother Naruto, save for the fact that his precious sisters were Jinchuuriki and he would be damned before he let some creepy society take them.

'You, can you find out any more about this Akatsuki?' Naruto thought to You as he stood up on the branch he was currently on, his eyes narrowed as he looked around keeping a wary eye out for any potential danger as he did so.

" **I would have though you would be more interested in finding out more about Orochimaru and the invasion plans."** You replied calmly, his soft silky voice echoing around Naruto's head.

Naruto paused as he heard that. He had been getting ahead of himself, first things first he needed to deal with the invasion and give his report to Mei, the business with the Akatsuki and with Orochimaru's other experiments and bases could come later. For now he needed to finish here in the Forest of Death, get his team through to the final and then return to Kiri. As long as his sisters were here they would be safe for now, as such he could worry about the Akatsuki later.

'You're right focus on that first.' Naruto responded, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed his surroundings. He had come across quite a few teams in the last hour, none of them were of any particular note so he had just passed by unnoticed. This was because he was looking for Team Seven, after having seen Kabuto's memories and Orochimaru's obsession with the Sharingan and Sasuke a distinct feeling of unease had come over him.

Before he could think any further though, he suddenly felt an influx of potent, malicious power not far away in the direction to the right of where he had been heading previously. Twisting his head to look in the direction it was coming from Naruto narrowed his eyes in concentration as he realised he had felt this power before.

 **( - )**

 **(With Erza in the Forest of Death)**

It was a few minutes after her run in with the snake that Erza arrived on a branch overlooking her sister and her teammate Sasuke. The moment she did her eyes widened in a mixture of shock, fear and anger. The area in front of her looked like a warzone, there were destroyed tees littering the clearing, and large craters dotting the surrounding landscape.

Mito Uzumaki was lying against one of these fallen trees, clutching feebly at a bloody wound in her side. It was likely that the only reason she was still alive was due to her Uzumaki and Kyuubi enhanced healing. If it were not for that, then judging by the blood soaked ground around her and the size and placement of the wound then it was likely that she would be dead right now.

A couple of metres away from Mito, was the writhing body of Sasuke. The young Uchiha was clutching desperately at his neck, whimpering in pain a she did so. Other than that the only other signs of injuries he showed were a couple of cuts and bruises, none of which were anywhere near as grievous as Mito's.

Standing just in front of Sasuke was no doubt their attacker. It was a Kusa Shinobi, a girl who looked a few years older than them, wearing standard Shinobi garb, with long black hair and a nondescript face. It took Erza only a moment to realise that she recognized the girl, she was the one that had approached Anko from behind back before this part of the test had even begun. Not that that mattered right now, no all that mattered was that this psycho had attacked Mito.

"I know you are there!" The girl in the clearing called out loudly as she turned to face Erza, a wide grin on her face as she looked up into the trees and saw Erza.

As she did so Erza had to stop herself from flinching backwards as she saw the girl's corrosive, snake-like eyes, the ripped up skin that was hanging off her face, revealing pale white skin behind and the blood that was staining her mouth.

Scowling as she met the girl's gaze, Erza's pulled herself together, her gaze flickering back over to Mito and Sasuke, neither of those two were weak, in her opinion they were probably at least Chunin level. This meant that the girl she was facing was far beyond the genin level she was claiming to be, and considering it was likely that she was also the one to summon the snake that had attacked Erza then….

"You're Orochimaru aren't you?" Erza said bluntly standing up on the branch she had previously been crouched on, her eyes narrowed as she looked down at the girl/ creepy old man below her, two katana like blades forming in her hands, as she used her Uzumaki Chakra to create them.

"Clever girl." Orochimaru replied leering up at Erza as he did so, reaching up and tearing away the ripped up flesh on his face as he did so and revealing his real face. A cold snake like face, with incredibly pale flawless skin, androgynous features and distinct purple marking running up the sides of his nose. "But you weren't the only one to guess. Your sister, Mito isn't it? She guessed the same, not that knowing my identity will do you any good."

Erza's gaze flickered back to Mito as she heard that before she looked back at Orochimaru. "Why are you here in Konoha? Why are you attacking us?"

Orochimaru, raised a mocking eyebrow as he heard that, a sneer passing across his face, as his cold yellow eyes rested hungrily on Erza. "And why would I tell a little brat like you that?"

"Why wouldn't you? You're probably going to try and kill us anyway so why bother hiding anything?" Erza asked, attempting to probe the much older and more experienced Shinobi for information. She had no intention of any of them dying here today, at the same time though she knew her father would need to know why Orochimaru was here, so why not try and get some information out of him whilst she could.

"Cute." Orochimaru said with a soft chuckle. "But it's not going to work, if I wanted you dead I would have killed you all already. No I merely came here to give dear Sasuke a gift, now that that's done I think I will leave, I have business in the Land of Earth after all."

Erza's eyes narrowed at that. She didn't know what to think about what Orochimaru had just said. He had just told her that she couldn't trick information out of him and then had given her information. Did that mean he was lying, or did that mean he was baiting her, or was he telling her the truth and expecting her to disbelieve it, or was he lying and expecting her to believe him? It was all a bit confusing really, she had no idea what to make of what he had just said.

"You hurt my sister." Erza said bluntly deciding to leave off her questioning for now and instead get down to business, her grip on her weapons tightening as she began to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra.

She didn't think she had much of a chance against a Shinobi of Orochimaru's caliber, she doubted she could even make him take her seriously. At the same time though she wasn't going to try and defeat him, instead by drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra, she was making it seem like she was, whilst in fact she was hoping to draw the attention of the Jounin and other Shinobi in and around the forest. The Kyuubi's chakra was after all very distinctive and currently Erza was channeling nearly three tails of the chakra into her, by drawing that attention to her she was hoping to get some assistance which will hopefully either drive Orochimaru off or potentially kill him.

Already she could feel the Kyuubi's potent power flowing through her, a smooth cloak of red energy having formed around her body, three tails flicking casually behind her as the cloak settled comfortably on her. Once again her eyes had become red and slitted, her canines had become sharper and now protruded from her mouth. Her crimson hair had risen into the air around her, waving around ominously as she drew on more and more of the Kyuubi's chakra, so much that she began to release vast amounts of killing intent and pressure onto the area around her.

Glancing down Erza noticed that the two blades of chakra in her hand had turned from their original golden colour to more of a violet colour, the previously smooth and elegant blades having become a bit more jagged, having become almost demonic in appearance.

Looking down at Orochimaru, Erza grinned savagely a she saw that she had put him on edge. The Snake Sannin had tensed up considerably, his eyes fixed on her as he watched her for any sign of movement. The other two in the clearing also seemed to have been affected. Sasuke had passed out no doubt the pressure from the Kyuubi's power and the attached killing intent was too much for him to bare. As he did pass out, Erza's sharpened eye sight noticed the distinct bloody mark on his neck, in the same area that he had been clutching before, it looked very similar to the 'Cursed Mark' that Kushina had removed from Anko a couple of years ago.

Ignoring that for now Erza's scarlet eyes then flickered over to Mito, noting as she did that she too was reacting to Erza drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. Unlike with Sasuke and Orochimaru however her reaction was different. Mito's body had become enshrouded in the same red energy as Erza, no doubt due to the half of the Kyuubi inside of her reacting to Erza's actions. This was good though as Erza could already see that the wound on her side had started healing faster, and that Mito was stirring, her eyes opening and widening as she watched the scene going on in front of her.

"I was not aware you had so much control." Orochimaru spoke up, his voice quiet yet still audible to Erza. "How interesting."

"We'll see how interesting you'll find it!" Erza growled out, her voice coming out rougher than before as she crouched down lower, having powered up as much as she dared. So far four tails of power was as much as Erza could safely use and even then she was often partially affected by the raging hatred the Kyuubi's energy contained. At three tails though she had a lot more control, her willpower strong enough for her to resist the effects of the Kyuubi's chakra. "When I beat you into the ground!"

Orochimaru smiled viciously in response. "Such confidence, but I wonder whether you have the strength to back that up?"

 **( - )**

 **AN: So yeah I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I was previously going to extend it to include the fight with Orochimaru and end the Forest of Death Arc, but the chapter just got away with me and ended up being longer than I thought it would. That being said I think there was some important stuff in this chapter so I didn't want to miss it out.**

 **The next chapter should be out soon and then we will be moving onto the end of the Chunin Exams where I have my most devious plot already in the works. Which I have already begun hinting at.**

 **So yeah other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Also I had another question about pairings. Naruto will have at least one during the course of the story and that should start coming out soon. Also in answer to the same question, Naruto can only cause things to decay when he uses his chakra on it, but the strong he becomes and the more experienced he becomes the more control he has over it and his abilities.**

 **Will hopefully be updating soon. So please leave a comment or a review etc.**

 **See you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Once again the reaction to the last chapter was brilliant and at least one person noticed a very important detail which will come into play later. But anyway I decided to put a bit of extra effort in today and publish the next chapter on Halloween. Not that this chapter is Halloween themed I just thought it would be nice to get a chapter out today.**

 **So yeah other than that I hope you continue to enjoy the story and leave some comments or reviews etc. as I love to hear from you.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 **( - )**

 _Looking down at Orochimaru, Erza grinned savagely a she saw that she had put him on edge. The Snake Sannin had tensed up considerably, his eyes fixed on her as he watched her for any sign of movement. The other two in the clearing also seemed to have been affected. Sasuke had passed out no doubt the pressure from the Kyuubi's power and the attached killing intent was too much for him to bare. As he did pass out, Erza's sharpened eye sight noticed the distinct bloody mark on his neck, in the same area that he had been clutching before, it looked very similar to the 'Cursed Mark' that Kushina had removed from Anko a couple of years ago._

 _Ignoring that for now Erza's scarlet eyes then flickered over to Mito, noting as she did that she too was reacting to Erza drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. Unlike with Sasuke and Orochimaru however her reaction was different. Mito's body had become enshrouded in the same red energy as Erza, no doubt due to the half of the Kyuubi inside of her reacting to Erza's actions. This was good though as Erza could already see that the wound on her side had started healing faster, and that Mito was stirring, her eyes opening and widening as she watched the scene going on in front of her._

 _"_ _I was not aware you had so much control." Orochimaru spoke up, his voice quiet yet still audible to Erza. "How interesting."_

 _"_ _We'll see how interesting you'll find it!" Erza growled out, her voice coming out rougher than before as she crouched down lower, having powered up as much as she dared. So far four tails of power was as much as Erza could safely use and even then she was often partially affected by the raging hatred the Kyuubi's energy contained. At three tails though she had a lot more control, her willpower strong enough for her to resist the effects of the Kyuubi's chakra. "When I beat you into the ground!"_

 _Orochimaru smiled viciously in response. "Such confidence, but I wonder whether you have the strength to back that up?"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 19**

 **( - )**

 **(With Orochimaru and Erza in the Forest of Death)**

"Well come on then girl; show me the power of the Kyuubi, show me that you are your father's daughter." Orochimaru said mockingly, a sneer very prominent on his face as he goaded the young girl into action. So far the power she released had been impressive, as had the control she had shown over three tails worth of the Bijuu's chakra. Even so though, she was still just a genin and he was Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, the differences in their experience and skill was almost staggering. Still though he was interested to see what she was made of, it could be that she might pose an issue during the invasion, an issue Orochimaru might have to deal with permanently when they time comes.

"With pleasure" Erza replied her voice coming out harsher than normal as she drew on the Kyuubi's chakra, the chakra not just affecting her physically, but mentally too, as the deeply hateful chakra of the Bijuu pressed onto her mind. With that response, Erza narrowed her slitted, red eyes before charging straight at Orochimaru. Her two blades, former of her unique Uzumaki chakra, held at the ready behind her as she exploded forwards, her body covered in a cloak of red energy as she crossed the distance between herself and Orochimaru in moments.

Seeing her coming, Orochimaru's sickly yellow eyes narrowed, before he leapt into action, racing towards Erza, his eyes gleaming in the gloom of the forest a she prepared to intercept the girl.

Within moments Orochimaru and Erza crossed the distance between them, and began their battle, meeting centre of the forest clearing. For the first few moments of the battle, Erza led the fight, using her enhanced speed and strength she tried to slash at Orochimaru with her blades, becoming a virtual maelstrom of fury. But each and every time she tried to cut him her blades singing through the air, Orochimaru would avoid her slashes by mere inches with such ease that it only made Erza's temper build. The way he was acting made it clear to Erza, that her movements despite being enhanced by the Kyuubi's chakra, were still slow to the Sannin.

"Come on now after all that talk I thought that you would do much better than this" Orochimaru mocked, as he continued to deftly avoid Erza's slashes and strikes. His yellow eyes gleaming with amusement as he tracked her swift movements, his glee only rising as he saw that Erza was slowly losing her temper, her movements becoming more violent and predictable as she did so, it appeared the girl was not as in control as he first thought.

That being said though, in Orochimaru's eyes the girl was certainly skilled, a prodigy no less, not quite on a par with himself or Itachi though, but far better than the average Shinobi. And when channeling the Kyuubi that skill was backed up by a lot of raw power, it was intriguing really and made Orochimaru both excited and cautious about what kind of Shinobi she would be if she grew to be in her prime.

Dodging a few more of her strikes, Orochimaru smirked as he suddenly vanished from in front of her, only to appear behind the girl and unleash a kick to the girl's lower back sending her staggering forward. It was like he had known, despite her skill she was still inexperienced when it came to actually fighting, and her skills although far above that of a genin, paled in comparison to his own. "Come on now, even your sister put up a better fight than this!"

Upon hearing this Erza's face contorted with anger. One of her blades of chakra dispersed as she released it, now holding just one blade in her hands, her crimson eyes narrowed as she focused on the mocking face of Orochimaru. With a shout Erza leapt forward again, her blade glowing with chakra as she slashed it through the air, releasing a blade of pure chakra at Orochimaru.

Seeing the crescent shaped, crimson energy coming at him, Orochimaru's eyes widened a fraction before he quickly jumped out of the way of the fast moving attack. His eyes tracing it as it tore through the trunk of a tree behind him, the crimson energy greedily eating into the wood and tearing it apart, before it continued through half a dozen tree behind that. It appeared the girl had more control over the Kyuubi's power than he had at first thought, plus she had picked up more than a few sword skills, that last attack looked distinctly like Kushina Uzumaki's **'Heavenly Slash Jutsu'**.

As Orochimaru jumped away to avoid Erza's attack, he immediately found Erza directly above him, a vicious smile on her feral face as she fell down towards him with her blade swinging downward and splitting Orochimaru's head in two. The previous attack had been a distraction, which had allowed her to use her enhanced speed to get above Orochimaru.

A look of exhilaration spread across Erza's face as she saw her blade strike Orochimaru's head, cutting through his skull like a hot knife through butter. The look of exultation only lasted a few seconds though before it was wiped away as Orochimaru's body suddenly turned into mud, revealing that Sannin had replaced himself with an 'Earth Clone' just before Erza had hit him. Landing lightly on the floor, her clawed left hand gently touching the forest floor, as her right hand was flung out behind her, blade in hand. Erza's crimson eyes shot all around the area, her senses straining as she sort to find the Snake Sannin.

"Close, but not close enough," Orochimaru said mockingly as he suddenly appeared right behind Erza.

Who upon hearing him quickly spun around a snarl on her face as she lashed out with her blade, before she could hit him though, Orochimaru counterattacked, punching her in the stomach as she spun round to strike him. The blow was powerful, packed with a lot of power as he used a bastardized technique he had based off of his former teammates Tsunade's super strength technique. As such it managed to double Erza over despite her chakra cloak, knocking the wind out of her, and sending her stumbling back a few steps. The blade of chakra to disperse in her hand as she lost concentration.

Orochimaru instantly continued his assault, following his punch up with a strong kick to Erza's side, which sent the girl crashing into the ground. Orochimaru soon followed this up as he lashed out, engaging Erza in Taijutsu, shrouding his hands and legs in chakra to both protect them from any burns that could be caused by Erza's chakra cloak and to enhance his strength.

Erza let out a gasp as Orochimaru managed to catch her in the sternum with one of his swift strikes, knocking her backward into a tree, which cracked as she made contact with it. Throwing herself sideways as she saw the smirking Snake Sannin going through a set of Hand Seals, his hands moving so fast they were a blur even to her enhanced vision. Erza just managed to avoid a blade of wind that bisected the tree she had been leaning on and a half dozen trees behind that.

"Come on girl I am getting bored! And when I get bored people start to die!" Orochimaru mocked, hoping to anger the girl even more so he could see more of her abilities. The girl was an Uzumaki after all and they were always a fascinating Clan, their chakra was so unique that it could often spawn multiple different Bloodline abilities, some based on sensory abilities, some on regenerative. He wasn't quite as interested in the Uzumaki's as he was the Uchiha, but he wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass.

Erza snarled as she heard his words, the Kyuubi's power burning through her veins as she felt the bruises and internal damage his attacks had caused rapidly healing up. Turning her burning gaze onto Orochimaru, she once again drew on her chakra, this time shaping it to create a full set of Samurai-like armour around her. Her solid chakra expanding from her body and turning into plates of violet coloured armour that covered her arms, legs, chest and head.

In her hands two more swords formed, both of them made of her chakra and capable of cutting through solid steel.

"Hmm impressive." Orochimaru said audibly, a contemplative look across his face as he inspected Erza. "Clearly you are using a variation of the Uzumaki Chakra Chains. Instead of chain like chakra constructs though, you have learnt how to create weapons and armour out of your chakra… how fascinating, I never realized the ability was so… versatile."

Erza scowled as she heard that, irritated that the man was diagnosing her techniques instead of paying attention to the fight. Leaping forwards Erza brought both her blades to bare as she began lashing out at Orochimaru forcing him on the defensive for a few minutes as he weaved in and out of her attacks. Spinning around Erza unleashed a mid-air spin kick, attempting to kick the Sannin in the side of the head. The sudden change from sword strikes to spin kick was swift enough to force the Sannin to raise his left arm up to block the kick.

Erza's eyes narrowed as she saw this, a smirk spreading across her face as she watched Orochimaru raise his arm up to block her strike. Seeing this Ezra's forced a blade of chakra to protrude from her leg, the wickedly sharp blade protruding from between her foot and knee, extending nearly four inches.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in pain and surprise as he felt the blade of chakra shear through the flesh of his arm, cutting through muscle and bone. His surprise soon turned to anger though as he wrenched his arm away and delivered a rapid and brutal kick straight at Erza's armoured chest. The blow catching her in the gut and sending flying backwards to land roughly on the ground a couple of metres away.

"Kukukukuku… well done little girl, it's been a while since anyone managed to injure me." Orochimaru said softly his left hand glowing with a green light as he healed up his right arm, his gaze fixed on the genin as she pushed herself to her feet. The attack had surprised him, which annoyed him more than the wound ever could have. Even so it was a nasty wound, the blade had nearly managed to cut through his full arm, if such a thing had happened he would have had to retreat and shed this body.

Erza spat in response, pushing herself to her feet and once again taking a fighting stance.

"So I am interested little girl, what other tricks do you have hidden up your sleeve?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk as he finished healing his arm, twisting and flexing it a bit as he prepared to engage Erza once more. His sharp yellow eyes examined the armour she had crafted for herself and the chakra cloak as he did so, noting that unlike traditional armour, Erza's had no visible chinks in it. So far he could say he was impressed, she had used the Kyuubi's chakra and her own abilities to forge powerful offensive and defensive capabilities. He would say she was at least on a par with a reasonably strong Jounin, not quite at elite Jounin or an S-rank Shinobi level, but certainly a cut above the rest of the Shinobi fodder. The same could be said of her sister Mito, in contrast young Sasuke was only at Chunin level, which for his next potential body was a bit disappointing, still though there was time to work on that.

In response to his question Erza charged forward again, her blades held tightly in hand as she rushed Orochimaru, trusting in her skill with her blades, the enhancements the Kyuubi's chakra gave and the defense provided by her armour. She was still under no illusion that she would defeat the Sannin, but she at least hoped to hurt him enough that whoever came to investigate the Kyuubi's chakra could drive him off or kill him.

For the next few minutes Orochimaru spent his time avoiding Erza's slashes and kicks, a simple smirk on his face as he dodged and weaved around her, never letting her get a strike on him. He didn't strike back though, instead he seemed more interested in analyzing her abilities then he did in fighting her seriously. To Orochimaru it was very interesting to see how different the two sister's style of fighting was. Mito, she focused on Fuuninjutsu, using its almost boundless potential and her skill with the art to fight. Erza however focused on Kenjutsu, using it alongside her unique Uzumaki chakra and the Kyuubi's power to devastating effect. With the way young Erza was fighting now, Orochimaru knew that she would be easily able to defeat the average Jounin, against a S-Class Shinobi like him though she was just not good enough. It was enough to tell him that he may need to alert his plans for the Invasion to take the two Kyuubi Jinchruuki into account.

After several minutes of Orochimaru avoiding Erza's attacks, what was left of the clearing that they were fighting in was even more destroyed than before, with even more small craters dotting the landscape and more trees smashed to pieces.

Finally seeming to get bored, Orochimaru dodged one final swing of the sword from Erza before he stepped in close, getting within arm's reach of Erza as he struck out with his own counterattack. Lashing out with his fist, Orochimaru struck Erza straight in the face, knocking her backwards a few steps. Not pausing Orochimaru kicked her feet out from under her knocking her onto her back, before after going through a few rapid Hand Seals he manipulated the earth below her making it exploded upwards as a stone spike erupted from it, striking Erza in the back. Lashing out with his hand again Orochimaru struck the girl in the gut, his fingertips glowing blue as he put a **'Five Elements Seal'** on her.

Erza's eyes widened as she saw this, before her Kyuubi cloak vanished, swiftly followed by her chakra armour as she suddenly felt a cloak of weariness settle over her. This always happened whenever she stopped using the Kyuubi's chakra, after having used it for a while, exhaustion. Stumbling backwards Erza tried created a single blade from her chakra, somehow though she couldn't, it was as if whatever Orochimaru had done had disrupted the flow of her chakra. Not that that would stop her she thought as she raised her fists, and instead prepared to fight with Taijutsu if necessary.

Seeing that she was still trying to fight him, a mocking sneer spread across Orochimaru's face. "Still not had enough girl?"

Erza glared in response, her eyes flickering from the mocking face of Orochimaru, to the now conscious but injured body of Mito who had begun to push herself to her feet, to the unconscious body of Sasuke. She had been hoping to have done a lot more damage than she had done. She didn't know what Orochimaru had done, but somehow after his last strike she had found that she could no longer draw on the Kyuubi's chakra, and she struggled to even use her own chakra.

A smirk spread across Orochimaru's face as he saw how helpless the girl now was. He had just used the **'Five Elements Seal'** , a powerful technique that could be used to block or disturb a person's chakra flow, it was a handy little technique he had learnt which could have a devastating effect on Shinobi. It was a wonder the girl was still conscious, let alone still willing to oppose him.

"Tell me girl, how would you like a gift to match the one I gave Sasuke?" Orochimaru said, the tone of his voice friendly and kind, completely at odds with the cruel look on his face.

Erza didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer, as she instead tightened her fists, once again trying to call upon her disrupted chakra. The very thought of the Snake Sannin putting his Cursed Seal on her disgusted her, she would not allow him to do so.

Orochimaru's smile grew at this petty act of defiance, opening his mouth Orochimaru prepared to mock the girl again, before he could though his eyes widened as he felt something coming from behind him.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked upon the scene before him. It appeared he had found Team Seven, all three members were in the clearing, with Mito and Sasuke both down, whilst Erza was struggling to even stand, barely holding her Taijutsu stance as she faced off against a tall gaunt Shinobi, with snake-like features and long black hair. Orochimaru if Kabuto's memories were too believed, though he could probably have made an estimated guess, having seen a picture of the man before in the Bingo Book.

Crouching on the branch below him, Naruto waited a moment as Orochimaru began to speak. Timing his movements for when Orochimaru would be at his most distracted. Without a sound Naruto leapt off of the branch, gliding through the air his axe in one hand, and four wispy grey chakra chains extending from his back as he shot at Orochimaru.

A moment later and Naruto was right on top of the man, his axe already moving as it split the Sannin's head like a melon. Naruto didn't grin though, as a few moments later Orochimaru's body turned into mud and crumbled into pieces. The Sannin had swapped himself out with a clone, it was a cheap trick and one that was in most Shinobi's repertoire. That being said Orochimaru's technique was flawless, Naruto would not have been able to notice had he not expected the move.

"Pain of Kirigakure, or is it Grimm? Either way it is an honour to meet you, especially after the stories I have heard about your… unique abilities." Orochimaru's soft sibilant voice whispered out, coming from multiple directions.

Naruto didn't even batter an eye as one of his chakra chains exploded forwards stabbing into the earth a few feet away from him. Naruto remained unsurprised when he saw the Snake Sannin burst out of the earth a few metres away a long thin sword now held in his hand as he deftly avoided Naruto's chakra chain.

"Interesting you were able to find me." Orochimaru mused as he took a few steps back facing Naruto as his yellow eyes trailed over him. "Tell me Pain, why are you here?"

"This is the Chunin Exams, your interferences is not allowed." Naruto replied blandly, pausing slightly as he began to analyse Orochimaru's stance. His surprise attack had failed, not that he had expected it to succeed against a Shinobi of Orochimaru's caliber. Now it seemed he would have to engage in a drawn out fight, this was not something he wanted.

"Kukukuku, I never imagined that you would be so diligent, especially when it came to looking after Konoha Shinobi. From memory I thought they had a high bounty on your head Grimm… for killing Kakashi wasn't it?" Orochimaru teased, trying to wheedle information out of Pain as he did so. Kabuto's little display in the first stage of the exam had warned Orochimaru that Pain was hanging around. Not that it particularly bothered him, the boy was an Outcast and Orochimaru always found the Outcast's abilities fascinating. Other than that he wasn't too concerned, so far Mei was following his instructions by having a team make it to the finals, as long as she continued to fall in line he wouldn't have any issues with her.

Still though he had not been expecting to confront Pain now, but it appeared that there was no choice. Neither Mei nor Pain knew that Orochimaru was the Otokage or involved in the plan and with the Hokage's daughter here he couldn't inform him of this fact even if he wanted too. This meant that for now he would have to fight his way out of this. Still though it did give him an opportunity to see firsthand Pain's unique and mysterious abilities.

"I am doing my duty." Naruto replied neutrally as he shifted his stance, two of his chakra chains sinking back into his body as he moved so that he was now stood in front of the exhausted Erza and Mito, making sure he was shielding them in case the Snake Sannin tried anything funny. "But I am more curious about what a traitor like you would be doing in Konoha?" Naruto continued, deliberately keeping his responses neutral as he didn't want to alert Orochimaru to the fact Naruto had killed Kabuto and knew exactly what Orochimaru was up to.

"Why I was feeling generous and so I decided to come and give dear young Sasuke a gift." Orochimaru said nonchalantly, a smirk on his face as he shifted his stance, prepared for anything. He doubted that this amicable conversation would continue for long, already he was looking for the slightest gap in Pain's defense for him to take advantage of, allowing him to either strike the Kiri Shinobi or retreat.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he heard that, his gaze shifting momentarily to Sasuke, noticing the mark on his neck and recognizing it, from Kabuto's memories, as a Cursed Seal of Heaven. Channeling chakra into his eyes, Naruto's sight turned black and white, the souls of those around him taking on a fiery glow as he subtly looked around.

Looking at Sasuke quickly Naruto saw the Uchiha's own soul and then traced his gaze to his neck where he could see a fragment of another soul bound to the seal. It appeared Kabuto's memories were accurate, Orochimaru had in fact bound a piece of his own soul in the Cursed Seal, what a foul thing to do, and stupid too.

Turning back to look at Orochimaru, Naruto almost flinched as he caught sight of Orochimaru's soul. The very sight of it almost made him shudder, it was even more foul and corrupted than Kabuto's, but more than that it had been mutilated in ways that caused revulsion to rise up in Naruto. Switching his gaze back to normal, Naruto saw that his reaction had not gone unnoticed, Orochimaru had gained an intrigued look on his face, his gaze locked hungrily on Naruto.

"So tell me Pain, those chains of yours, are they Uzumaki Chakra Chains?" Orochimaru asked his eyes flickering from Naruto's face to the two wispy grey chains that protruded from his back.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the sudden change in topic, his gaze suspicious. Gripping the handle of his axe tighter, Naruto began to extend two chakra chains from the soles of his feet. The two chains burrowing through the earth and slowly heading towards Orochimaru, it was the same trick he had used on Kabuto.

"Yes." Naruto replied bluntly, shrugging his shoulder as if his admittance meant nothing. Behind him he could fear the sharp intake in breath from the barely standing Erza and the slumped over Mito.

Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow as he heard that, having not expected Naruto to answer honestly or at all. Smirking he moved his gaze back to the chains, studying them as he did so. "I can see the similarities, but the chakra making them up, it's different, unique. From what I have heard your chakra is able to rot flesh upon contact, why is that?"

"Clan secret." Naruto replied with a thin lipped smile, his red eyes narrowing.

"Pity…" Orochimaru replied, before his eyes suddenly widened and he leapt backwards. Taken aback as two of Pain's chakra chains erupted from the ground at his feet.

Pushing himself backwards, Orochimaru managed to dodge getting a direct hit. Unfortunately though one of the chains managed to strike on of his legs, the thick barbed chain rapidly binding Orochimaru's leg, tearing through flesh and muscle as it constricted his leg. Grunting in surprise at this Orochimaru slashed out with this sword, the blade striking the chain and sheering through it, causing the part that bound his leg to disperse.

The other chain meanwhile shot towards him, acting like a striking snake as it sought to bind another one of his limbs. Luckily though Orochimaru managed to avoid it, his blade moving again as he channeled chakra through the Kusunagi blade and easily cut the chain in two.

"Chakra metal?" Naruto muttered to himself as he leapt forward, his axe drawn back to strike, his other hand going through number of quick one handed seals. Chakra metal, the same material his axe was made from, was one of the few materials that his chakra couldn't decay or rot, even so though, he had never seen anyone cut through his chains like Orochimaru just had.

 **( - )**

 **(With Orochimaru)**

Letting out a harsh grunt as he landed on his feet, his blade, Kusunagi, clasped tightly in his right hand, Orochimaru prepared to counter attack. It appeared he had underestimated the boy, whilst he was digging for information the boy had been more active than he thought, his chains had literally been digging through the ground beneath them. It was foolishness on Orochimaru's part, the boy had been given an S-rank for a reason. Orochimaru should have taken him seriously from the beginning.

Glancing down at his leg Orochimaru contained a wince as he saw how the chain had torn a large wound across his thigh. A wound that had already begun to fester and spread, already it was almost up to his knee, the flesh and muscle rotting as Pain's chakra began to eat through anything it came in contact with. Orochimaru could now tell why he was called Pain, the injury he caused was excruciating and debilitating.

Narrowing his eyes Orochimaru began to channel chakra into his leg, forcibly trying to expel Pain's chakra and heal the injury, which considering Pain's chakra had begun to eat his own was not an easy task. All the while he was doing this he kept his gaze on Pain as he charged in, sensibly trying to take advantage of Orochimaru's injury.

Swinging his Kusunagi blade up, Orochimaru decided to get serious. This wasn't like fighting the genin, this Pain was a credible threat. He wouldn't kill him though, as he was also a potential tool, as once the invasion started Orochimaru would have influence of Kiri's forces, and after the invasion, well that would depend on how amicable he was feeling. For now though he had to get away. Either way Pain was going to be a useful tool in the invasion ahead, which meant that he didn't want to kill him off now, especially as killing Mei's guard dog would not endear him to the Mizukage.

Grimacing Orochimaru shot through a number of rapid hand seal, preparing to send a **'Great Wind Breakthrough Jutsu'** at Pain which would hopefully get rid of the boy and allow Orochimaru to withdraw and sort out his festering wound, which even now he was still struggling to combat.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto didn't pause for a moment as he shot forwards towards Orochimaru, his free hand shifting through a number of one handed seals molding his chakra. Bringing his cupped left hand to his mouth Naruto took a deep breath before unleashing his wide ranged Jutsu directly at the Snake Sannin.

A blast of flickering grey fire erupted from Naruto's mouth as he released a version of his own **'Great Fireball Jutsu'** one of several jutsu he had managed to adjust and personalize. Naruto's chakra almost acted like an actual fireball as it shot across the distance between him and Orochimaru, devouring anything that got in its way. Grinning Naruto followed after his attack, putting on a burst of speed as he blurred out of sight, two chakra chains extended from his back and his axe in hand. Within a moment he was in his attack using it as cover as he attacked the wounded Orochimaru, not at all affected by the deathly nature of his own chakra, him being completely immune to its effects.

The two elemental attacks met in midair between the two combatants. Naruto's chakra devouring Orochimaru's attack. The fiery grey cloud of chakra then continued to spread as it rotted trees, grass, plants and anything that got in its way. Unfortunately though Naruto's Jutsu lacked the range of a ' **Great Fireball Jutsu'** , meaning that it had already begun to disperse.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he saw this, his teeth gritting as he saw Pain explode forward, exploding out of the cloud of chakra, two chakra chains extending before him, the spear like tips aimed right for the Snake Sannin.

Naruto once again struck Orochimaru, his chain burrowing through his chest, but like before the Snake Sannin's body turned into mud. Turning around Naruto lashed out with his chains and axe as heeasily cut through another six Orochimaru's all of whom leapt out of the ground and attacked him, and all of whom upon being dispatched turned into mud.

Spamming clones like that was an annoying trick, and it was starting to piss Naruto off. Twisting around once the last of the clones was dispatched, Naruto began surveying the whole area attempting to locate where Orochimaru was as he did so. This time though he sensed nothing, it appeared the Snake Sannin had decided to cut his losses and retreat. Naruto might be able to pick up his trail, but considering that this was Orochimaru the chances of actually catching up to him before he disappeared was slim. If Naruto had been with his team, both Victor and Clementine than he had no doubt they would be able to find Orochimaru and maybe working together take him down. But alone and in unfamiliar territory Naruto was a bit more cautious.

Narrowing his eyes as he thought this Naruto once again surveyed the area. He had taken Orochimaru by surprise, he doubted he would do so again. This meant that the next time Naruto fought Orochimaru, he would need to be extra cautious. Orochimaru was after all a prodigy for a reason, his skill and experience as a Shinobi was greater than Naruto's. The Snake Sannin would no doubt have come up with countermeasures to deal with what he now knew about Naruto.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Scowling at the less than satisfactory end to his skirmish with Orochimaru, Naruto was soon distracted from his thoughts by the sound of someone pushing themselves to their feet behind him.

Turning around Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he saw Erza still holding her Taijutsu stance, her movements still shaky and her face still pale. Whatever Orochimaru had done to her, it didn't seem like it had worn off yet. Despite that though she still looked willing to fight Naruto if she had too.

Standing just in front and to the side of Erza, looking cautiously at Naruto, was Mito. Like Erza she was prepared to fight, despite the fact that she was clearly tired and from the looks of the large bloodstain on the side of her torso, had been badly injured.

Quite frankly the two of them were in a weakened state and if he had any desire to Naruto knew he could crush both of them without issue. By the stubborn and resilient looks on their faces, he guessed the two of them were aware of this fact too. But despite that they were both still on their feet, preparing to fight and defend each other if Naruto proved he was a threat.

"Problem?" Naruto asked calmly as he fully turned to face them, deciding to do this diplomatically. Despite that however he did not let his guard down, just in case his hot-tempered sisters tried something rash.

"What are you doing here?" Mito snapped back her eyes locked cautiously on Naruto, watching him closely, prepared to act at the slightest sign of hostility.

"Saving you and your team from Orochimaru… doing my job as an Exam Proctor…." Naruto said blithely, shrugging his shoulders before he sealed his axe back into the tattoo on his wrist. Proving o the two of them that he was not wanting to fight them, already his chakra chains had sunk into his body and his stance had relaxed slightly.

Erza relaxed her stance as well as she heard that, giving Naruto a very slight nod of thanks as she did so. "We appreciate your assistance."

"It's no problem, how badly injured are you?" Naruto asked the slightest hint of concern bleeding into his voice.

"Myself and Mito are fine, due to certain… circumstances we both have a healing factor. Sasuke however…" Erza trailed off as she turned to look at the passed out Uchiha, her eyes fixing on the seal on his neck. "He is in a bad state, we need to get that seal on his neck removed."

Naruto nodded as he heard that, an idea coming to mind as he began to approach Sasuke's passed out body. Before he could though he found himself stopped by Mito, the girl having moved to stop him, still giving him a hostile look as she did so.

"I may be able to help your teammate." Naruto said coming to a pause in front of her.

"We don't need your help. Our mother is a Fuuninjutsu Master, she can remove the seal when we get back to Konoha." Mito said abruptly.

Naruto shrugged as he heard that. "I may not be a Funninjutsu Master, but I can do something that will help, you can get it sorted out properly once you leave the forest, along with whatever Orochimaru has done to your sister."

"Mito let him help." Erza spoke up, turning to her sister with a frown.

Mito turned to look at Erza in shock. "He killed Kakashi, how can you trust a person like him?"

"Kakashi died whilst on a mission. I may not like Grimm for what he did, but he was doing his duty for his Village." Erza replied, a scowl on her face as she looked at Naruto. "But he did fight off Orochimaru for us and is now offering to help Sasuke."

Mito scowled in response. "How can you say that? Kakashi was like family to us!"

"Yes I know he was, but he is dead now. No matter what we do it won't bring him back, but letting Grimm help us may allow us to survive the rest of this test." Erza shouted, beginning to get annoyed with her sister. She didn't like the fact that they were trusting Grimm, but she also knew that they didn't have a choice. They were in the middle of the Chunin Exam, they couldn't back out now, which meant they would have to either get a scroll and finish up fast, this would allow them a few days recovery before the next stage of the exam. Or they could wait it out for five days, and then quit the exam after that. Either way they couldn't just give up, not only would it shame Konoha and their families, but it wasn't allowed, they had been made to sign that contract for a reason after all. So far Mito was the only one at full fighting strength.

Mito turned to glare at Naruto as she heard that, before very slowly standing aside.

Naruto nodded at her. "Don't worry I will be gone soon. I will just help the Uchiha with his seal first. I am not sure what to do about what Orochimaru did to your sister but I can at least do this much."

"Why would you even bother?" Mito asked spitefully, keeping her eyes on Naruto as he crouched down next to Sasuke and a placed his hand on the Uchiha's neck. No matter what anyone said she would not trust him, which was why she was making sure he didn't do anything untoward.

"Because I am feeling generous." Naruto replied bluntly as he put his hand on Sasuke's Cursed Seal, concentrating as he began to remove the fragment of Orochimaru's soul form it. The Snake Sannin's soul might look foul and repulsive, but he was still a powerful Shinobi, devouring a part of his soul would not be a bad thing.

Closing his eyes and ignoring his sisters, both of whom were now watching on in both interest and suspicion at what he was doing, Naruto instead began to pull out the fragment of Orochimaru's soul, making sure as he did not to kill the Uchiha, as somehow he didn't think Konoha would like it if he killed the last Uchiha.

Naruto's crimson eyes snapped open as he pulled his hand away from Sasuke's neck, pulling a small wispy grey orb out of the seal as he did so. A few seconds later Naruto absorbed Orochimaru's soul fragment into his hand, ignoring that for the moment as he instead concentrated on Sasuke's Cursed Seal.

Already the skin on Sasuke's neck had turned grey, the seal quickly degrading as Naruto's chakra ate through it. Unfortunately though Naruto's control was not perfect as his chakra also ate away at parts of Sasuke's flesh and chakra network. The damage though was not grievous, as soon as he withdrew the soul fragment and degraded the seal Naruto pulled every speck of his chakra out of the Uchiha.

"It might scar a bit and certainly won't look pleasant, but Orochimaru's seal is gone now." Naruto said as he pushed himself to his feet. "Give him a few chakra pills, and a bit of time and he should be fighting fit again."

"What was that? That wasn't Funninsutsu, how did you get rid of the seal?" Mito asked, her animosity forgotten for the moment as she instead focused on the grey patch of skin on Sasuke's neck. Reaching down she inspected it for any trace of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, ignoring Sasuke's unconscious moan of pain as she did so. Finding nothing she looked up at Naruto in both surprise and curiousity.

"Clan Secret." Naruto replied with a shrug, turning around and scanning the area as he did so.

"You're an Uzumaki though, so aren't we part of the same Clan?" Erza asked carefully from where she was stood next to the crouched over form of Mito.

Naruto shrugged in response, focusing instead on the familiar presence that was quickly coming towards them.

Standing up as well, Mito also looked in the same direction as Naruto. Having already sensed the person approaching. "Anko's here."

"Oh great…" Naruto said sarcastically a she patiently waited for the purple haired, special Jounin to burst into the clearing. Which she did a few seconds later, her eyes wide and a kunai held at the ready in her hand as she burst into the clearing. Taking in the destroyed tress, cratered ground and large swathe of rotting trees and vegetation, before seeing Mito, Erza, Sasuke and Naruto.

Three Chunin exploded out of the trees after her, all three wearing green flak jackets as they closely followed after Anko in formation. Prepared to leap into action at any moment.

Coming to a stop just in front of them, Anko had her kunai held at the ready, her attention fixed cautiously on Naruto as she prepared to strike at any second. "I felt the Kyuubi's chakra what's happened? Did Grimm attack you?"

"No it was Orochimaru, he ambushed us and Grimm… Grimm helped us…" Mito replied uncomfortably, not liking the fact that she was acknowledging Grimm's assistance.

"Orochimaru!" Anko asked instantly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at them, before she turned to scan her surroundings. "Tell me everything!"

 **( - )**

 **AN: And there we have the end of the Forest of Death Arc, I hope you all enjoyed it. The next chapter will quickly run through the rest of this stage of the exam, I will probably finish off the second stage in one chapter as I am sure people don't want to read multiple variations on the canon preliminary fights. I might show a couple though for the Kiri team and Team Seven, but most will be summarized as since Naruto is not directly involved and a number of them will just be rehashes of canon fights.**

 **I hope people like what I have done with Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, and there will be side effects. I think Naruto's actions in this chapter will have big knock-on effect as the story goes forward.**

 **I know Mito's attitude in this chapter might be off-putting, but I was trying to portray how someone might react when someone they don't like and don't trust helps them. And how they would deal with having that help. That being said the feelings with regards to Naruto are slowly becoming mixed and confused as they get to know him. Plus we have the next stage coming up which will put Naruto in direct close proximity with the other Konoha Shinobi and Minato which should be interesting.**

 **With this though we begin to move into the finals and the most devious part of my plot yet.**

 **Other than that I am glad with how people are enjoying my story and hope you continue to do so.**

 **I have to say though that I was slightly distracted from this story as ideas for another pure Naruto story wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote them down. The ideas originated when I was reading a story called Dawn's Sage, percolating in my mind as I thought 'what if'. Whether they turn into anything or not depend on how I feel about them. That being said I've started to write the first chapter using the Dawn's Sage by Panory Bro as a heavy influence.**

 **I hope you all leave a comment or a review and I will see you all later.**

 **Seagate.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: SO here we are again with another chapter. I can't seem to resist when it comes to this story. MY muse is on fire and it just won't let go as I keep thinking up new ideas. That being said I don't want to neglect my other stories.**

 **Also I watched an episode of the Boruto Anime… can't say I was a fan. I find the MC, Boruto, if possible more annoying than canon Naruto. Might be a bit controversial but can't say I like this Next Generation show. That being said the musical score is still awesome and some of the characters seem like they might have interesting back stories. SO I won't write it off after watching one episode, that being said I can't see myself watching any more unless I am bored.**

 **But anyway here we are with the next chapter. I hope you all like it. Ps. I had a go at another Naruto story called 'Sage of the Hunt', so give it a go if you have time.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _What was that? That wasn't Funninsutsu, how did you get rid of the seal?" Mito asked, her animosity forgotten for the moment as she instead focused on the grey patch of skin on Sasuke's neck. Reaching down she inspected it for any trace of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, ignoring Sasuke's unconscious moan of pain as she did so. Finding nothing she looked up at Naruto in both surprise and curiousity._

 _"_ _Clan Secret." Naruto replied with a shrug, turning around and scanning the area as he did so._

 _"_ _You're an Uzumaki though, so aren't we part of the same Clan?" Erza asked carefully from where she was stood next to the crouched over form of Mito._

 _Naruto shrugged in response, focusing instead on the familiar presence that was quickly coming towards them._

 _Standing up as well, Mito also looked in the same direction as Naruto. Having already sensed the person approaching. "Anko's here."_

 _"_ _Oh great…" Naruto said sarcastically a she patiently waited for the purple haired, special Jounin to burst into the clearing. Which she did a few seconds later, her eyes wide and a kunai held at the ready in her hand as she burst into the clearing. Taking in the destroyed tress, cratered ground and large swathe of rotting trees and vegetation, before seeing Mito, Erza, Sasuke and Naruto._

 _Three Chunin exploded out of the trees after her, all three wearing green flak jackets as they closely followed after Anko in formation. Prepared to leap into action at any moment._

 _Coming to a stop just in front of them, Anko had her kunai held at the ready, her attention fixed cautiously on Naruto as she prepared to strike at any second. "I felt the Kyuubi's chakra what's happened? Did Grimm attack you?"_

 _"_ _No it was Orochimaru, he ambushed us and Grimm… Grimm helped us…" Mito replied uncomfortably, not liking the fact that she was acknowledging Grimm's assistance._

 _"_ _Orochimaru!" Anko asked instantly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at them, before she turned to scan her surroundings. "Tell me everything!"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 20**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto in the Forest of Death)**

Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he entered the tower in the centre of the Forest of Death, and the end point for the second stage of the Chunin Exams. The last few days for Naruto had been very irritating. After his fight with Orochimaru and his brief conversation with his sisters he had been confronted by Anko Mitarashi. Who upon hearing the details of what had passed had preceded to drag Naruto into the forest in an attempt to track down Orochimaru before he escaped.

This was despite the fact that Naruto had told her it was no use, and that the Snake Sannin was likely to have already disappeared. Were it any other Shinobi, Naruto thought he would have a chance of catching up to them and taking them down. But this was Orochimaru of the Sannin they were talking about, a much older and much more experienced Shinobi, even Minato Namikaze would struggle to kill the Snake Sannin by himself. And that was not taking into account the fact that he would be tracking Orochimaru through a heavily wooded forest, which is pretty much home turf for a Konoha Shinobi, which Orochimaru used to be.

Still though Anko had been persistent and Naruto had humoured her at first, after all what else did he have to do whilst being a proctor for the second stage of the Chunin Exams. He had already finished the mission he had been sent here to do, Kabuto's soul had provided a huge amount of information on the Oto and Suna Invasion Plan, which even now several days later he was still processing. That wasn't taking into account the fragment of Orochimaru's soul that he had devoured, which although useful did not provide as much information as he had hoped. Still though the combined knowledge he had received from those two was enough for him to make a report to Mei, and for him to label his part of the mission a resounding success.

Which had initially put him in a very good mood, but four days later he was losing his cheeriness. Anko was a very beautiful, sexy woman, with a dry, sarcastic wit that Naruto very much enjoyed, in normal circumstances Naruto would likely enjoy spending several days in very close proximity with her. These weren't normal circumstances though as Anko it appeared had a real hard on when it came to hunting down Orochimaru.

Apparently she used to be the man's apprentice back when she was still a genin, but had been cast aside when he had turned traitor and fled Konoha, after of course giving Anko, his apprentice, an experimental Cursed Seal as a going away present. Since then she had nurtured a deep resentment for the Snake Sannin, partly due to the suspicion many Konoha Shinobi treat her with due to her former ties to Konoha's most infamous traitor and the stigma which surrounded those ties, and partly because of the fact the man had used her and cast her aside.

Truly there was nothing more frightening than a woman scorned. Never before had Naruto understood those words better than after having spent four days with an angry, pissed off Anko. Although the woman was never especially unpleasant to him, she did tend to bring the mood down and was not as amusing to talk to as she had been before the Sannin's appearance. Which made what could previously have been a pleasant jaunt through the Forest of Death quite an unpleasant task.

Thankfully though the second stage of the exams had ended and the Hokage had recalled the proctors for the exam.

It appeared that whilst Naruto was taking part in a wild goose chase in the Forest of Death, Minato and his advisors had been made aware of Orochimaru's presence. Including his attack on the members of Team Seven, his putting the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto's intervention and subsequent removal of the Seal. Apparently according to a rather talkative Shinobi called Iruka, who they had run into when they were entering the tower, Naruto's actions had somehow managed to win him a few friends. Well not friends, but perhaps a slight modicum of respect from some of the Konoha Shinobi.

After all Naruto had taken on an infamous S-rank Missing-nin, all to protect a team of Konoha Shinobi. A team that happened to include the Hokage's daughters and the last Uchiha. It may not fully absolve him of killing Kakashi in the eyes of many Konoha Shinobi, but it lessened the amount of hostility. Not that Naruto gave much of a damn what the majority of the Konoha Shinobi thought about him.

Of course had the team of Shinobi been any other then it was likely Naruto would not have stepped in to help, instead he would have stayed out of it and just let them die. After all he liked to think he generally fought sensibly, and taking on a Sannin in their home territory was not sensible. Especially since depending on Mei's decision he might be working with that Sannin again quite soon. Unfortunately though it had been Team Seven that was attack, and although Naruto didn't care much for Sasuke. He did care a lot about his sisters, and would very much prefer it if they were not killed.

"Hey cheer up Grimm, your jobs over you can relax now." Anko said from where she was walking beside him.

"Well you seem to be in a better mood." Naruto replied dryly as he and Anko walked through the building, heading for the arena where those who had finished the second stage had been gathered.

Anko shrugged in response. "I'm still a bit pissed off that the snake escaped, but I am feeling a little better after venting for the last few days."

"Good for you." Naruto replied irritably, she might be feeling better after venting her frustration, but Naruto wasn't. Why did she had to vent by rampaging through a deadly forest, couldn't she vent in a normal way, like by drinking or fucking.

"Ok, I am starting to get why you got your alias. Are you called Grimm because you always act so grim?" Anko asked with a large grin as she looked sideways at Naruto.

Naruto gave her a bland look at that. "The pun was funny the first few times, now it is just becoming painful."

"But I thought you would like a bit of pain…" Anko replied her grin growing as she saw she was getting under Naruto's skin.

"Again, the pun is getting old, you need to come up with some new material." Naruto replied with a very faint groan. Now he loved a good pun as much as the next person, but being bombarded with the same ones for the last four days was getting draining. Already he was beginning to suspect that his sense of humour might never recover.

Anko laughed loudly at that, casually bumping Naruto's hip with her own. "So I am curious, the name Pain. Was that really given to you at birth or is it another alias."

"I chose my own name." Naruto replied vaguely.

"That's cool I suppose. But you could have been a bit more imaginative. When I hear the name Pain, I almost immediately think of a bad guy. Which for a Shinobi is not a bad thing considering the rep it will get you, but for clients… well I wouldn't be too comfortable hiring a guy called Pain to protect my family…" Anko continued casually chatting along with Naruto as they made their way through the tower's corridors. Occasionally passing an ANBU, Chunin or Jounin as they made their way towards the arena.

"Good thing I don't do protection missions then. I was a Hunter-nin, I hunt down other Shinobi and cut of their heads…" Naruto replied blandly, his lips twitching slightly as he saw Anko stumble beside him.

"Ok admittedly the name Pain suits that profession. But come on don't you want to do anything else. I work in the Torture and Interrogation Department, a nice cushy job and a great place to work out any anger issues you might have." Anko replied, far too cheerfully considering the topic of conversation. "Plus the name Pain… it would be perfect for a Shinobi with that job!"

Naruto shrugged at that, a slight smile once again on his face. "I used to be involved with torture and interrogation during the civil war. But I kind of graduated from that line of work. I wanted something more exciting and field based."

"To each there own." Anko replied before a sudden thought popped into her head. "Wait if you were doing that during the Kiri Civil war how old are you?" She asked trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

"Fourteen." Naruto replied in amusement.

"So that would mean…" Anko began her brow furrowed as she looked at the young Jounin beside her, who despite being five years her junior was already a full Jounin and an internationally recognised S-rank Shinobi. The overachieving brat.

"That I was doing your job when I was ten years old." Naruto asked innocently.

"You are a bit of a shit has anyone ever told you that?" Anko replied as she let out a loud laugh. Prodigies, they always were a right pain in the arse. She herself had been considered a prodigy in her youth, unfortunately though her apprenticeship under Orochimaru had somewhat ruined her career progression. Even now, years after Kushina Uzumaki had removed the Cursed Seal Orochimaru gave her, she was still looked at with suspicion by a couple of members of the Shinobi Council and by the majority of Civilian Council.

"They have, but more often than not they died a few seconds later." Naruto replied in amusement.

"Oh that's hot." Anko replied with a grin, "You really know how to make a girl wet."

"And you know how to make a conversation awkward…" Naruto replied dryly as they entered the arena that the Chunin hopefuls, the Jounin Sensei's and the Hokage and his guards were waiting in.

Anko let out a loud laugh at that, ruffling his hair as she did so before moving off, heading for where the Hokage was stood, on a balcony looking over arena. It appears she was going to report in on what they had found on their pointless four day search in the Forest of Death.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he ruffled his hair, knowing as he did that Anko had done so to get a reaction out of him. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction, instead he decided to wander over to where the other Jounin Sensei's were waiting. Sticking his hands in the pockets of his flak jacket as he did so.

Glancing over the assembled Jounin, all of whom were hanging around up in the stands which surrounded the arena, and then down at the arena itself where the Chunin hopefuls were waiting. Naruto began to take account of who had passed the second stage of the exam. From a first glance he could see Suigetsu, Hodan and Chojuro all waiting for the Hokage to speak, none of them looking as if they had just spent the last five days in a deadly forest.

Naruto smiled faintly at this, glad that those three were living up to their side of the mission. All they needed to do now was for at least one of them to make it to the finals so Mei would have a legitimate reason for coming to Konoha with her elite guard. Considering the fact that two of them were high Chunin level and Hodan was low Jounin level, Naruto was of the opinion that they would be fine. If they did fail, well Naruto would be very embarrassed for them, and then would likely kick their arses for fucking up the mission.

Looking away from his team, Naruto instead noticed the red haired Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi and his two siblings in the arena below, standing just off to the side and away from the Konoha, Kiri and Oto Shinobi. So apparently the team made up of the Kazekage's children had made it through the Forest of Death, no surprise there. Like with Naruto's team, only one member of the team needed to make it through to the finals, and unless they were very unlucky with the matchups they would be fine. Especially considering the fact they had a mentally unstable Jinchuuriki on their side.

Standing beside the Suna team Naruto could also see a team of unfamiliar Shinobi. Though judging by the music note that was displayed on their forehead protectors he could only assume that this was the Otogakure team. It only took a glance for Naruto to see that they were nothing special. Considering the competition they might struggle to get even one of their members through to the finals. Which begged the question on what the hell Orochimaru was doing? The invasion plan was his idea, one would assume that he would have sent strong enough Shinobi to the exams to ensure that at least one member of his 'Village' made it to the finals.

Looking away from the Oto team, Naruto instead looked at the Konoha teams, vaguely recognizing many members of the teams from his youth. He could see his old childhood friends, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, standing alongside that annoying shrew Ino Yamanaka. He also recognised the Hyuuga heiress, the Aburame heir and the Inuzuka heir, he may not have known them personally but he did recognise them from social gatherings he had been dragged to as a child. Other than that there was also another Konoha team, this one made up of an unfamiliar male Hyuuga, a pretty girl with her brown hair in buns and what could only be Maito Guy's mini-me, from just looking at the boy Naruto guessed that this was Guy's team. Those poor kids, they never stood a chance.

Overall it looked like Konoha had brought out the cream of the crop, the majority of its genin in the exam were Clan Heirs, genin who had likely been trained from a very young age in their Clan's Shinobi Arts, just like Naruto's sisters were. And like Naruto was not… not that he was still bitter about that…

Speaking of his sisters, Naruto could also see Team Seven patiently waiting for the Hokage to speak alongside the other Konoha genin. Both Erza and Mito now looked fully recovered, no doubt due to their naturally high stamina and healing abilities, courtesy of their Uzumaki heritage and Jinchuuriki status. Plus whatever Kushina did to get rid of that seal Orochimaru put on Erza. Sasuke though, Sasuke didn't look good. His skin had a slight grayish tinge to it, and he had large bags under his eyes. By the looks of it he wasn't reacting well to Naruto's removal of the Cursed Seal.

Shrugging that thought off Naruto continued on until he was stood with the other Jounin, getting a slight nod from Asuma as he did so.

"So looks like all your teams made it through." Naruto said, deciding to be diplomatic. "Congratulations I guess…"

Asuma nodded amicably at that, a faint smile on his face as he heard Pain's awkward greeting. "Yeah, but it's been decided to hold some preliminaries to whittle down the competition a bit. Not sure how well my team will do considering the competition they'll be facing."

"You should have more faith in your team Asuma." Kurenai Yuhi said from where she was standing beside him, a look of disapproval in her crimson red eyes, before she turned to look at Naruto. A hesitant expression on her face as if she was not really sure what to say to him.

Luckily she didn't have to as the trio were soon joined, by the grinning Guy.

"Yosh, Kurenai is right as long as they go in with the right attitude and their hearts full of YOUTH they are bound to succeed!" Gai said loudly as he decided to pitch in on the conversation, a large grin on his face as he gave Asuma a thumbs up.

"The matchups are probably important too." Naruto said dryly as he came to stand next to them, somewhat surprised by the lack of hostilities he was facing. Even Guy wasn't glaring at him. "If you go up against Shinobi like that Gaara boy, or the Hokage's daughters, well you will be in for a tough fight."

"True." Asuma said with a nod of his head, knowing that not a single member of his team would win if they were to face off against one of the three Jinchuuriki. "Speaking of the Hokage's daughters, I heard what you did in the Forest of Death."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, interested in just what they had heard.

"Yes to willingly take on Orochimaru, all to protect a Shinobi team not even from your own Village. Truly I have misjudged you Pain." Guy said, nodding his head as he did so. "It appears you are a much worthier man than I first believed. Certainly a worthy rival! When next we meet, we both should give it our all!"

Naruto blinked at that, not sure how to take Gai's statement. Was it a compliment, or a threat or… well Naruto didn't know how to respond. Luckily though he didn't have to, as Asuma spoke up again.

"Yeah you did a good job there, I don't think Kushina would have survived losing another child." Asuma added, giving Naruto a nod and clapping him on the shoulder as he did so.

"Another child?" Naruto questioned, knowing they were talking about him, but still curious to hear what people thought of his disappearance.

"Yeah the Hokage's son, a sweet little kid called Naruto. The boy was always a sickly and frail child, so much so that many people thought he wouldn't make it out of childhood. But anyway, the kid went missing a few years back, some say he was kidnapped, some say he ran away. Can't say I know for sure. Either way the kid disappeared and well his loss almost destroyed Kushina." Asuma said a frown on his face. "She only really recovered when little Naruko was born, and even then she still gets upset if anyone mentions Naruto. So… well we don't really mention him."

"Asuma, what happened to the boy is in the past, there is no point bringing up old wounds." Kurenai spoke up, her red eyes narrowed as she gave Asuma a reprimanding glare.

"Do you reckon the kid is still alive out there?" Naruto decided to ask, knowing he might be pushing his luck, but still curious over the answer.

Asuma ignored Kurenai's glare as he turned to look at Naruto, a strange look on his face as he scratched his bearded chin. "Nah, the kid was always so frail and weak, I doubt he would have survived for more than a day outside the safety of the Village. Officially he is deceased and most people reckon he is dead, but even so, I reckon Kushina and her daughters still think there is a chance he is still somehow alive out there."

"What about the Hokage?" Naruto asked, pushing back the guilt he felt at the amount of pain he probably caused his mother and sisters.

"Well Minato was always a pragmatist. He was the one who declared his son dead after a year and stopped sending out search parties or wasting resources on a lost cause. I know the loss of his son hurt him, but as always he put the good of the Village above everything else." Asuma replied, before he coughed into his hands and changed the subject. "But anyway, it looks like the Hokage is about to speak."

That drew the attention of the others as they all turned to look at the Hokage as he took a few steps forward. Naruto however frowned internally, he knew he didn't really have a right to feel angry, but despite that he was irritated that his father had decided to cut his losses and declare Naruto dead. No doubt the reason came down to wasting resources looking for a sickly kid who was likely dead. But still, it was a bit of a dick move of Minato's part.

Before Naruto could speak again, the Hokage cleared his throat and began to speak, drawing the attention of the entire room. Including the assembled genin on the arena floor and the Jounin Sensei in the surrounding stands.

Clearing his throat loudly silencing those assembled, Minato smiled slightly before he began to speak. "Before we continue there are a few things that I wish to explain to you, it concerns the true meaning of this Chunin selection exam. Why do we have all of the allied countries taking the exam at the same time, even some neutral countries?" Minato asked as he looked from the Konoha Shinobi, to the Suna Shinobi to the Oto Shinobi and finally to the Kiri Shinobi. His blue eyes twinkling and a slight smile playing around his lips.

"'To promote friendship across countries' and 'To raise the quality of our shinobi'." Minato continued after a slight pause, listing off the general reasons most gave, before after another pause he continued. "I don't want you to misunderstand the meaning, however... the true purpose the exam is... to serve as a replacement for war amongst our allies" Minato said, his pause accentuating his declaration, the tension in the arena increasing as some genin shifted uncomfortably as they heard that.

Naruto meanwhile only rolled his eyes as he heard this, the Chunin Exam were basically a watered down, war game, who could have guessed that?

"Not that long ago Village was fighting Village and Shinobi was killing Shinobi, the wars that followed were a terrible and wasteful thing and led to the death of many Shinobi from all nations. This exam is an alternate to the wars of old, one that allows us countries to avoid such wasteful fighting. For the third test, Lords and Ladies from all over the Elemental Nations as well as the leaders of your countries will all be watching your fights. You will fight, with your life on the line, to protect not your home's land, but its prestige. If your country is seen as weak, you will lose clients, the livelihood of a Shinobi, if you are strong, you will gain clients, bolstering your home. If your country is shown as a strong country it will also send a political message to other countries." The Hokage said his voice strong and authoritative.

"Then why must we risk our lives? There has to be a better way to fight for this prestige." A genin from below shouted.

Looking down at the assembled genin, Naruto noticed it was the Inuzuka heir. The boy was an idiot, challenging his Kage's words publically like this.

The Hokage fixed the genin with a flinty stare, his voice turning hard and stern, it was the voice of a Kage, "The strength of the Country is the strength of the Village, the strength of the Village is the strength of the Shinobi, and a Shinobi's true strength... is only born in in a life and death battle." the Hokage said, his voice strong and powerful, making the genin below all stand a bit straighter. "This Exam only has meaning because when you fight, you fight to become Chunin but for your very lives and for the prestige of your Villages."

Pausing for a few seconds to let that sink in, Minato then looked to the side of the arena, his gaze finding a bandana wearing Shinobi who was casually leaning against the wall. "Hayate Gekko, a Shinobi of Konoha will be your proctor for the next stage of the exam. If you would please explain what will happen next Hayate?"

As Minato said that the unfamiliar Konoha Shinobi appeared in a flurry of wind and leaves just in front of the assembled genin. "As you say Lord Hokage." Hayate said with a short bow to Minato before he turned to the rest of the arena and the assembled genin.

"My name is Hayate Gekko and there is something we must do before the third exam." Hayate said as he turned to address the genin, before he burst into a coughing fit, his hand clasped tightly against his mouth.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw that, the man looked sick. He had very pale skin, and dark circles under his eyes and shaky hands. Naruto was surprised they would even let a guy like that be a Shinobi. In Kiri a Shinobi like this would be put on sabbatical until he recovered, or would be forced into a desk job/ administration positon if he did not.

Ignorant of Naruto's thoughts Hayate continued. "Currently there are too many participants... the previous stages may have been too easy. According to the rules, we'll have to hold a preliminary in this kind of situation." Hayate said surprising the genin. "As Lord Hokage explained earlier, there will be many important spectators who will come to see the final stage of the exam a month from now. As you can imagine, many of them may be pressed for time. We therefore have a limited timeframe to hold the finals, and there's no telling how long the battles will last so we have to make certain only the best make it that far..." He trailed off, coughing into his hand before adding, "Anyway, anyone who isn't feeling well or who was intimidated by what we discussed here has this opportunity to back out. Please step forward if you aren't feeling confident."

The arena was silent for a minute as the assembled genin looked amongst each other, wondering whether anyone would be giving up. Around the side of the arena, Naruto let out a sigh, as if anyone would give up after getting this far, if they were still able to stand then they should be willing to fight. Even if the chances of victory is low, in a controlled setting like this they should be willing to push themselves beyond the limits. After all Minato said this was life and death, but honestly unless you were stupid or very unlucky it was unlikely that you would die.

Seeing that no one was willing to give up, Hayate nodded his head, coughing a couple more times before he continued his explanation. "The rules for the preliminaries battles are simple. The matches will be one on one and there is no external help allowed, other than that though there are no other rules. The match continues until one of you dies, is knocked out, or declares defeat, if you don't wish to be killed then you should quickly acknowledge your defeat. When the winner has been clearly established, I will jump in and stop the fight, if you continue to harm your opponent after the fight has been declared, you will likely be disqualified and may find yourself in the hospital." Hayate continued bluntly, not sugarcoating the consequences.

"And... the screen above you will decide who will fight." Hayate finished as he pointed to a now revealed, big black screen which was attached to the wall on the other side of the arena to where Minato was standing. Looking up at it Naruto could say he was impressed, those screens were the height of modern technology and as such were absurdly expensive. No doubt this was just an attempt by Konoha to show of the affluence of their Village to their competitors.

"This electronic screen will randomly select two contestants to fight, now. Let's begin!" Hayate continued as he looked up at the board, his eyes along with the eyes of everyone else in the arena fixed on the board as it flashed through the names of the many different contestants, each name bringing a dinging sound before a loud beep signaled the names of the first two contestants,

"Suigetsu Vs. Kin Tsuchi" Hayate read out as he looked up at the board. "Could everyone apart from those two please go up to the stands and wait for your turn to come."

"So looks like one of your brats are going to be fighting first." Asuma said as he glanced over at Naruto. "Do you reckon he has a chance?"

"Yeah he should do fine. Suigetsu might be a little shit, but he is a capable Shinobi." Naruto replied as he watched the genin leave the arena and filter up to the stands where he and the other Jounin were stood. This left the arena below empty save for Suigetsu, a pretty Oto Kunoichi with long knee length black hair and Hayate. Leaning forwards, his arms idly resting on the railing in front of him, Naruto let out a slight sigh as he saw Suigetsu begin to posture, obviously either taunting or flirting with the attractive Oto Kunoichi. He really was a turd.

Kurenai turned to give Naruto a disapproving look as she heard that, no doubt not approving of either his vocabulary or his comments about his own 'genin' team. "Should you really be talking about your genin like that?"

"Tell you what, talk to Suigetsu for a minute and you will see why I think he is little prick." Naruto replied blandly, giving Hodan and Chojuro a nod as they approached him, with a number of the other genin following after them. Seeing them approach Naruto pushed himself off the railing and wandered over to them, aware that the other Jounin Sensei's were doing the same.

"You two are still alive then?" Naruto asked in a tone of feigned surprise as he turned his attention from the upcoming fight and instead looked at the two of them. Noting again that they didn't look at all affected by the second stage of the exam.

"Yeah, it was pretty easy. We only came across two teams. Both of them were quite weak so we just knocked them around a bit and hurried back here." Hodan replied with a grin. "Got here about four days ago, just before the Suna team."

Naruto grunted in reply, irritated that they had been lounging around here in luxury whilst he had been slogging around the Forest of Death, on a wild goose chase, as he attempted to track down the long gone Snake Sannin. "Good, I would have been embarrassed for you, if you had gotten beaten."

Once again Naruto felt Kurenai's eyes on him, no doubt she was once again disapproving of how he spoke to his genin. Ah well she can suck it.

"Nice to see you never change Pain." Hodan replied with a chuckle, as he idly leant against the railing. Enjoying his old friend acerbic tone.

Naruto chuckled slightly in amusement as he heard that, getting surprised looks from a couple of the nearby Konoha Shinobi. It was as if they didn't think he was capable of laughing. How rude.

Glancing away from Hodan, Naruto instead looked around and saw that all of the genin who weren't fighting yet were now all in the stands. All of them seeming to stay in their teams as they prepared to watch the preliminary matches. Looking over Naruto could see how the other Jounin Sensei were breaking up and going to their respective teams, no doubt to give them a bit of a pep talk after their trials in the Forest of Death, as well as a bit of commentary on the fights as they continued. Probably a little advise to on how they should deal with a certain Shinobi if they came up against them, it might be a little dishonourable, but Shinobi didn't give a fuck about honour.

Rolling his eyes at that, Naruto was about to turn back to the arena, when he saw Kushina Uzumaki trying to catch his eye. Looking over at his mother, Naruto was surprised to see her give him a very slight nod of her head, and mouth the words "thank you" at him before she looked away. Naruto smiled faintly under his mask as he saw that, it was no doubt his mother's way of acknowledging his help when it came to protecting her daughters from Orochimaru.

"Hey Pain the match is about to start." Hodan said, gaining Naruto's attention as he turned to watch the ongoing fights. Honestly speaking Naruto wasn't that really interested in the fights, they were genin after all, for a Shinobi of his caliber the fights weren't too interesting or impressive. Still though whilst he was here, he might as well watch, after all the genin in this room may one day be his competition out on the field.

 **( - )**

 **(Suigetsu Vs. Kin Tsuchi)**

Naruto frowned as he watched the fight between these two Shinobi, not at all surprised at how quickly it ended. It started off with Kin throwing out a number of senbon, each of which had a very small bell hanging from the end. Her style of fighting was actually quite interesting, it relied on casting sound based genjutsu using the bells on her senbon as a catalyst. With these genjustu she could disorientate and confuse her opponent, leaving them open to a barrage of senbon, each of which would likely be thrown with pinpoint accuracy. Puncturing pressure points and disabling her opponent.

For a genin it was a very sophisticated way of fighting, intricate and subtle it would have allowed her a swift victory over the average genin. Naruto himself was actually quite impressed. Of course Suigetsu wasn't the average genin, instead he was a member of the New Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and was the wielder of Shibuki the 'Blastsword'.

The moment the match started and Kin through her senbon Suigetsu was already moving, his sword already in motion. Suigetsu's blade Shibuki was an interesting one, it utilized various explosive tags, contained within a substantial scroll, in order to incorporate explosions into the user's own swordsmanship, which Suigetsu was able to use to great effect. As Kin was making her move, Suigetsu was already bringing his blade down in the centre of the arena. Causing a large explosion and creating a small crater in the centre.

The shockwave from the explosion was enough to knock Kin backwards, and the sound of the explosion drowned out the sound of the small bells on Kin's senbon. From there it was over very fast, Suigetsu using his Chunin level speed to close in on the girl, engaging the genjutsu user in close combat. Against a trained swordsman she didn't stand a chance, and was soon left unconscious, having been blasted backwards into the nearby wall.

It was a pity really, but sometimes you were stuck with a bad matchup.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"Subtlety and restraint, they aren't things Suigetsu knows much about." Naruto said dryly, as he looked down at Suigetsu with an amused expression.

"Better to end it quickly then make it a drawn out battle." Chojuro shrugged, not wanting to badmouth his fellow Swordsman, like Pain did. Though considering this was Pain…, he really shouldn't be surprised one of Kiri's most deadly Shinobi could be a bit of a dick.

"True, but the sword he used is somewhat well known." Naruto said as he looked up and saw that he had his team were receiving some speculative glances form the rest of the Konoha Jounin. A number of them had clearly recognised the sword Suigetsu used. "I am sure many will be wondering what a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist is doing taking a Chunin Exam."

Hodan chuckled as he heard that. "Well the Seven Swordsmen need to advance to Chunin like any other Shinobi."

Naruto sighed as he heard that. Not answering as he saw the board light up again as the next competitors were called.

 **( - )**

 **(Sasuke Uchiha Vs Ino Yamanaka)**

The match that followed was almost embarrassing in how short it was. The Uchiha although pale and weak from his exertions in the Forest of Death, managed to defeat the blonde Yamanaka Heiress in less than thirty seconds, not even needing to use a Jutsu or activate his Sharingan as he beat her with pure physical ability and taijutsu.

Hayate had barely shouted "begin" before it was finished. Ino hadn't even been able to put up a guard before she had been punched in the stomach, which bent her double and winded her. A knee to the face followed which broke her nose and sent her stumbling backwards. This was followed by a low sweeping kick that knocked her off her feet, and then a kunai pointed at her throat. Which forced her to surrender, blood bubbling from her nose and her eyes wide in shock and a slight bit of fear.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"What the hell happened? I think I blinked and I missed it!" Suigetsu shouted mockingly from where he was stood next to Naruto, Hodan and Chojuro.

"Don't be a shit Suigetsu." Naruto spoke up bluntly as he saw the frowns being sent towards them by Ino's team. Glancing over at them Naruto's eyes met Shikamaru's for a moment, not noticing as Shikamaru gained a look of faint confusion and recognition as he saw Naruto's scarlet eyes and black sclera.

Instead Naruto was more concerned with fighting down his own sarcastic comments at the almost embarrassingly fast defeat. Like seriously, he thought as an Heiress of an important Shinobi Clan she would at least put up a fight.

 **( - )**

 **(Tenten Vs Temari)**

This match ended up being almost as one-sided as the one before. But not through any lack of skill on either combatants part. Instead the swiftness of this match came from just a bad match up.

The fight started with Tenten showing her skills and expertise with numerous different weapons, bombarding Temari with kunai, shuriken and multiple other blades. Despite the speed and accuracy with which she threw them though, not a single one of the multiple weapons that she threw towards Temari actually managed to hit her. This was something that shocked the members of Tenten's team, after all apparently Tenten never missed

It became worse for the brunette once that Temari announced that Tenten would be defeated once her fan was fully unfolded. This had just enraged Tenten even more, thinking that the blonde was just underestimating her

Tenten kept trying to land a hit on Temari, but it was futile. She ended up deciding to go close-range, but it was already too late. Temari saw her coming and with a flick of her battle fan a powerful gust of wind had sent Tenten flying just before she was smashed against the handle of Temari's gigantic fan

In the end the match was just as one-sided as the others.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"The girl would probably benefit from focusing on mastering one weapon, instead of being adept at a dozen." Naruto said simply, Suigetsu and Chojuro nodding along.

"The girl was a wind user though, it is difficult to get in close against those." Hodan spoke up.

"Difficult but not impossible." Naruto replied, knowing from experience that it was very possible. After all he had defeated wind users before with just his axe. All Tenten needed to do was learn how to get in close, either by using ninjutsu or by increasing her speed and agility, a bit of polish that was all Tenten's skills needed if she wanted to make it to Chunin.

 **( - )**

 **(Zaku Abumi Vs Hodan)**

This match like those that went before it was swift and brutal. Zaku, an Oto Shinobi who seemed to use wind based ninjutsu like Temari. Unlike her though he had two holes in each of his palms, each of which allowed him to release condensed blasts of air from the attached nozzles, they were… unique to say the least.

No doubt against a normal Shinobi these blasts of wind would be deadly, as wind could not only bludgeon but also cut. Unfortunately though he was facing off against Hodan, also known as the Cannonball.

The moment Hayate began the match, Hodan had already activated his blood line ability. Propelling himself across the arena at eye watering speeds. His body a blur as he propelled himself forward.

Zaku hadn't been able to dodge as a few seconds after the match began Hodan's, heavily armoured, stocky body ploughed into him, knocking him of his feet and crushing him against the far wall.

Suffice to say the boy had had to be carried off on a stretcher, his ribcage, arms and legs all being mangled and broken. Hodan meanwhile was practically uninjured, the armour he wore having protected him from the impact. Instead he had merely stretched a bit and then waltzed back up to the stands, not noticing as the other genin stared at his few second defeat of Zaku.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"And that boys and girls is why they call Hodan the 'Cannonball'…" Naruto said with a wince as he saw some Chunin carry Zaku's broken body away.

"And I thought Suigetsu had no restraint." Chojuro spoke up absentmindedly.

"Hey!" Suigestu complained indignantly as he gave Chojuro a betrayed look.

 **( - )**

 **(Shikamaru Nara vs Erza Uzumaki)**

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he heard this match up, brains versus brawn. Erza although intelligent was not on the level of a genius like Shikamaru. Shikamaru on the other hand whilst a decent enough genin, had nowhere near as much talent or raw power as Erza. It would be interesting to see how this battle unfolded.

"I forfeit."

Or at least it would have if Shikamaru hadn't just forfeited. The boy having no doubt realised that his chances against Erza were slim to none. As even if he did manage to catch her in his **'Kagemane Jutsu'** it was likely that she could overpower it through sheer physical ability. This was not taking into account the fact she could make hundreds of Kage Bushin, more than he could possibly hope to hold back. So thinking back on it he probably made the right decision to forfeit when he did.

Unfortunately though this also meant that he wouldn't have a chance at becoming a Chunin this time around, he hadn't shown anywhere near enough to be promoted and had not even attempted to try his luck against Erza, even in a heavily monitored environment like the arena.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"Have to say I was not expecting that…" Naruto said blandly, a slight smile spreading across his face as he looked to the side and saw Asuma comically slamming his head against the railing. Whilst the other Jounin looked on in resigned amusement.

In the arena Hayate didn't even blink as he dismissed both combatants and turned to find out who would be fighting next. Shikamaru meanwhile lazily made his way back to the stands, his hands in his pocket and a bored expression on his face.

Erza however scowled in irritation before letting out a faint sigh and walking up to the stands as well. Giving Naruto a sideways glance as she did so, before returning to where her mother and sister were waiting, amused expressions clearly evident on their faces.

 **( - )**

 **(Lee vs Gaara)**

This match started off looking just as one-sided as the ones before. Gaara's sand which his siblings called the ultimate defense stopping Lee dead in his tracks as it blocked every single attack from Lee. Who it appeared focused on taijutsu to the exclusion of all else.

For those watching Lee's defeat had become an inevitability, or at least it had until Lee took off his leg weights, revealing that each one of them had weighed one hundred pounds, meaning he was a hell of a lot stronger and faster than he first appeared. After this reveal Lee was suddenly able to get through Gaara's defense which was apparently the first time it ever happened. Following that Lee began to use some strange technique Naruto had never seen before, to massively power himself up, at the expense of damaging his own body. This power up allowed him to push Gaara to the edge of defeat.

Gaara ended up having to resort to using his sand armor when Lee managed to kick him away from his gourd and it looked like he would win. But it hadn't been enough and Gaara had managed to get a hold of Lee's arm with his sand and in a gruesome display crushed it. Then he did the same with Lee's leg. Gaara probably would have killed him too if Guy didn't step in.

Suffice to say though, what had started off as a pretty uninteresting matchup between the Kazekage's Jinchuuriki son and some nobody, had turned into the most gripping match in the preliminaries so far.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"Damn, that Gaara kid is hardcore." Suigetsu said with a whistle.

"That defense of his will be difficult to get through, but if that Lee kid can do it, I reckon we will too." Hodan spoke up, a frown on his face as he tried to work out how he would fight against an opponent like Gaara. So far though, he was coming up short.

Naruto hummed in response, Gaara's abilities and his 'ultimate defense' was certainly a quandary. Depending on what Mei decided when he brought his report to her after the preliminaries, there was a distinct possibility that he might be facing off against Gaara in a month's time, that is if they do decide to assist Konoha instead of attacking them.

This meant Naruto would have to put some thought into how he could fight and kill the Ichibi Jinchuuriki if he had too. The boy wouldn't be the first Jinchuuriki Naruto had fought, he had faced off against his sister in Wave after all, and the Fourth Mizukage before that. Though against the Fourth Mizukage he had been one of many that had faced him, including Mei Terumi a Kage level Shinobi in her own right.

 **( - )**

 **(Choji Akimichi Vs Dosu Kinuta)**

The next match was over fast. As soon as the match started Choji used his **'Partial Expansion Jutsu'** to try and crush Dosu. However when Choji crashed into a wall Dosu used his melody arm to knock the large, rotund boy out. In the end all Dosu had to do was use the water in Choji's body to transmit his sound leaving him as the winner.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"Can't say these Konoha Shinobi have been that impressive so far." Suigetsu said obnoxiously, getting the Kiri group a couple of scowls from the remaining Konoha genin in the stands.

In response Naruto cuffed the boy around the back of the head sending him stumbling forward. Clasping his head with his hand and complaining. Naruto didn't pay him any attention, as he instead looked over and gave Kurenai a 'see what I mean' look. The scowling genjutsu mistress gave him a nod of acknowledgement as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Hinata Hyuuga Vs. Neji Hyuuga)**

This matchup between cousins was enlightening to say the least. Neji who was apparently a branch member of Hinata's Clan, completely destroyed the younger girl. The boy showed not a scrap of mercy as he went out of his way to beat Hinata down and humiliate her, goading her as he did so about her unsuitability to be the Heir of the Hyuuga Clan and her all round incompetence.

By the end of the harsh and overly drawn out match, Naruto doubted the boy had a single friend left in the room. Even his own teammate Tenten and his Sensei Gai were looking at Neji with disappointment and disgust, Lee probably would have been too, if he had not been taken to the medical area. It certainly left a sour taste in Naruto's mouth. Family no matter how dysfunctional should never treat each other like that, this was beyond cruel.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"Well that guy was a complete twat." Hodan said a scowl on his face as he saw some Chunin carry Hinata out of the arena on a stretcher. The slightly older boy, Neji, being escorted out of the arena by another Chunin.

"If any of you lot face off against him in the finals…. Make him suffer." Naruto said bluntly, a faint scowl on his own face as he watched Neji leave. He might not know the Hyuuga girl, but he knew that that Neji guy was a grade A dick, and needed a good beating.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Chojuro replied a scowl on his own face, which considering the boy's generally meek and quiet demeanor was quite a surprise.

 **( - )**

 **(Kiba Inuzaka vs Chojuro)**

The next match between Chojuro and Kiba was actually a surprisingly decent match. When Chojuro drew his blade he got a few more raised eyebrows from the Jounin in the arena as he revealed himself to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen. Ignorant to this Kiba ended up charging Chojuro head on, fighting alongside his partner Akamaru with surprising fluidity.

The fight after that was swift as Kiba threw smoke bombs at Chojuro, before attacking the Kiri swordsman alongside Akamaru. The tactic was smart and as the two of them attacked Chojuro, their bodies almost like mini cyclones at they tore through the cloud of smoke, many in the arena began to think Kiba stood a chance. Despite facing off against one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who were usually some of Kiri's most elite Shinobi.

Those hopes soon came to an end though, as first Akamaru and then Kiba found themselves knocked out of the air by Chojuro. The boy using the flat of his blade to knock them down, before holding his large blade against Kiba's throat, forcing him to surrender.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

"The kid wasn't bad." Suigetsu begrudgingly admitted.

"He has potential, but I think Chojuro was going very easy on him." Hodan replied, leaning against the rail as he saw Chojuro help Kiba back to his feet. A smile on his face as he did so.

"The fact he used the flat of his blade and not the edge could tell you that much." Naruto replied sarcastically, as he folded his arms in front of him. Giving Chojuro an approving nod as the boy turned to face him.

"What a pussy." Suigetsu said his tone mocking.

In response Naruto cuffed him around the head again, nearly sending him headfirst into the arena.

"Can you stop doing that!?" Suigetsu shouted as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I could…" Naruto replied with a faint smile before he once again ignored Suigetsu's bitching.

 **( - )**

 **(Shino Aburame Vs. Mito Uzumaki)**

Naruto perked up as he heard the last match being announced, he had high hopes for this match as so far the preliminary bouts had been one-sided and a bit disappointing.

As it turned out though he had got his hopes up for nothing. Shino although a very competent Shinobi had found himself with a very bad match up. As Mito was not only a powerful and skilled Kunoichi, but also a skilled Fuunijutsu user.

The match started with Mito rushing Shino, a kunai in hand as she used her superior speed to close in on him. As she struck him though, the blade did not meet flesh, instead it revealed that the Shino she had attacked, had not been the real Shino but had instead been a clone of him, one which was made out of his chakra eating Kikaichu bugs.

Upon this realization, Mito had not back away like most would have when they were faced with a large swarm of chakra eating Kikaichu bugs about to latch onto them. Instead she had pulled out a scroll from the bandoleer around her waist and had sealed the majority of Shino's swarm within the scroll. Cut off from Shino and unable to escape, and unable to eat chakra now they were held in stasis.

With the loss of the majority of his swarm, Shino had been hard-pressed to fight back as Mito had then quickly overwhelmed him in close combat, not at all bothered by the few dozen bugs he had left, which had attempted to leech her chakra. Which considering her colossal reserves of chakra was not really that surprising.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Naruto let out a disappointed sigh as the preliminary matches came to an end. With Kankuro, the oldest of the Kazekage's children getting a bye to the finals due to the uneven numbers. The remaining genin were all also told that the third stage of the Chunin Exams, a full tournament style competition would be taking place in a month and that the foreign Shinobi were welcome to stay and use Konoha's training facilities if they wanted too.

After that was said the fights for the third stage were displayed on the board overhead, getting a number of murmurs and mutters from the genin who had made it through the preliminaries.

Erza Uzumaki Vs. Neji Hyuuga

Chojuro Vs. Mito Uzumaki

Kankuro Vs. Gaara

Temari Vs. Hodan

Suigestu Vs. Sasuke Uchiha

Dosu Kinatu - Bye

Looking up at the board, a look of interest passed across Naruto's face. Those were some potentially interesting fights. He just hoped they would be more entertaining than the ones he had seen today. Plus he hoped he actually got to watch at least a couple of them, before the invasion started.

"So what now?" Hodan asked, a note of curiousity in his voice as he looked inquisitively at Naruto.

"Now…" Naruto began as he looked around and saw that the other Shinobi were beginning to filter out of the arena. "Now we return to Konoha. I want everyone get an early night because we are heading back to Kiri at first light."

All three of them groaned as they heard that.

"Deal with it, because we will be up early and moving fast, I want to be back at Kiri as soon as possible." Naruto replied mercilessly, before pausing as he felt someone approaching him. Turning around he was surprised to see the smirking face of Anko looking at him as she waltzed over, her hips sashaying hypnotically. "Problem?"

"Not yet." Anko replied with a smirk, before she rolled her eyes as she saw Naruto giving her a dry look. "The Hokage has 'requested' to have a word with you before you leave. Probably wants to hear your version of what happened in the Forest of Death with Orochimaru."

"Oh brilliant…" Naruto replied sarcastically at the thought of being interrogated by his father and whoever else decided to stick around. Turning to his team he told the lot of them to continue on to Konoha and that he would catch them up later. "Lead the way then Anko." Naruto replied as he began running over in his head just what he would and would not be sharing.

 **( - )**

 **AN: And there we are. Have to say I was glad I was able to get through the preliminaries this chapter I had previously been worried that I would have to split the chapter up. But alas I prevailed.**

 **SO bits and pieces happened in this chapter, I didn't want to dwell on the individual fights, so I summarized and added in a bit of sarcastic commentary.**

 **Next chapter will have a few Konoha based points of view, and a meeting between Minato and Naruto. SO you've got that to look forward too.**

 **Other than that I have a tester chapter for a new story out, called 'Sage of the Hunt'. I would appreciate it if you would take a look as I am on the fence.**

 **And the next chapter will be out soon. Just need to balance it with my on going work on my Road to Hell Chapter which seems to want to fight me every single step of the way. But hopefully it will be out soon. As I am doing this I will also be playing around with Sage of the Hunt and Carpe Diem writing those out. I really need to set up a proper schedule.**

 **So yes I hope you all leave a comment or a review and I will see you all later.**

 **Seagate.**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Happy New Year everyone, I hope you are all having a good one so far!**

 **So this is my first chapter of the New Year and due to the number of requests I received I decided to make it the next chapter of Dead Man Walking. Luckily I had some of this written already otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it out, what with Christmas and the New Year's celebrations I literally haven't had a moment to myself since the 22** **nd** **December.**

 **I also had to restrain myself from writing a new story when the sudden idea of a potential new story came to mind. Suffice to say I have noted the idea and put it aside for now with a multitude of other ideas so I can instead focus on my existing stories.**

 **So anyway I managed to snatch an hour or two today and finished this off for you. I hope you all enjoy and leave a comment or a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Looking up at the board, a look of interest passed across Naruto's face. Those were some potentially interesting fights. He just hoped they would be more entertaining than the ones he had seen today. Plus he hoped he actually got to watch at least a couple of them, before the invasion started._

 _"_ _So what now?" Hodan asked, a note of curiousity in his voice as he looked inquisitively at Naruto._

 _"_ _Now…" Naruto began as he looked around and saw that the other Shinobi were beginning to filter out of the arena. "Now we return to Konoha. I want everyone get an early night because we are heading back to Kiri at first light."_

 _All three of them groaned as they heard that._

 _"_ _Deal with it, because we will be up early and moving fast, I want to be back at Kiri as soon as possible." Naruto replied mercilessly, before pausing as he felt someone approaching him. Turning around he was surprised to see the smirking face of Anko looking at him as she waltzed over, her hips sashaying hypnotically. "Problem?"_

 _"_ _Not yet." Anko replied with a smirk, before she rolled her eyes as she saw Naruto giving her a dry look. "The Hokage has 'requested' to have a word with you before you leave. Probably wants to hear your version of what happened in the Forest of Death with Orochimaru."_

 _"_ _Oh brilliant…" Naruto replied sarcastically at the thought of being interrogated by his father and whoever else decided to stick around. Turning to his team he told the lot of them to continue on to Konoha and that he would catch them up later. "Lead the way then Anko." Naruto replied as he began running over in his head just what he would and would not be sharing._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 21**

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha with Naruto)**

Naruto let out a faint sigh as he walked towards the Hokage's Tower which stood prominently in the centre of Konoha, led by the ever gregarious and enthusiastic Anko. The purple haired woman practically strutting through the streets of Konoha, her trench coat off and resting on her shoulder and a smirk on her face as she led Naruto through the busy streets.

As he walked behind her Naruto couldn't help but glance down, his eyes drawn towards Anko's firm and shapely rear as she walked ahead of him.

A part of Naruto thought the woman was doing it on purpose, he couldn't say for sure though as he had only known her a short time. But during that time he had come to the conclusion that she liked messing with people. And so far Naruto had managed to ignore all her attempts at baiting and teasing him. This prior experience made him believe that this was likely just another attempt to make him feel uncomfortable.

Taking his eyes off Anko's rear he didn't miss the slight smirk she sent him as she turned her head to the side and looked at him. It appears she had caught him, not that he would give her the satisfaction of appearing flustered.

Rolling his eyes at that, Naruto looked past her and saw that they had reached the Hokage's Tower, the entrance guarded by two visible ANBU agents. It was very likely that there were another few ANBU Shinobi also guarding the tower, only these ones were likely either hidden or undercover passing themselves off as normal civilians. With enough time and a bit of effort Naruto was pretty confident he could find them, but for now he didn't see the point.

"We're here to see the Hokage. He requested a meeting with Pain before he left to return to Kiri!" Anko said as she paused in front of one of the visible ANBU, making sure to clearly state her reason for being here and why Naruto was accompanying her.

The man, or woman in turning to look at Anko blankly as she approached, their face fully covered by a white mask, one which had the image of a bear on it. Shifting their head slightly Naruto could tell that the ANBU Shinobi had turned to look at him now, no doubt accessing him as a threat, comparing him with the description of Grimm that they had in their Bingo Book.

Turning back to Anko the guard gave her a single nod, not saying a word as she rolled her eyes before striding into the Hokage's Tower. Gesturing for Naruto to follow her.

Which he did so, conscious of the gaze of the ANBU guards on him as he walked between them. His body tensing up slightly, just in case they tried anything funny. He might be here as the Hokage's guest but he wasn't about to let his guard slip for a moment. Shinobi after all were known to be tricky, backstabbing bastards.

"Seriously, is it just me or are all ANBU overly dramatic. I mean sometimes I just want to shout get a life! Just because you wear a silly mask and don't speak doesn't make you cool!" Anko said loudly as she led Naruto through the building not at all bothered by the eyes on them, instead a slight smirk stretching across her face as she finished her comment and then deliberately glanced at the half mask covering Naruto's lower face.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he heard that, easily identifying the mocking jab Anko sent his way. Rolling his eyes Naruto then gave her a bored look. "And you're point is?"

Anko shrugged with a chuckle, for some reason quite amused by his bland response to her teasing. "I don't really have a point."

"Which would make you pointless then?" Naruto replied quickly, his sudden smirk hidden by his mask as he saw Anko suddenly stop a surprised expression on her face as Naruto swept past her.

"Did you just make a joke?" Anko said loudly a grinning spreading across her face as she jogged to catch up with him, walking side by side now as they slowly ascended the tower heading for the Hokage's office at the top.

Naruto sent her a sideways glance as he heard that, a slight twinkle in his crimson eyes.

"Oh, it seems my boy's growing up!" Anko shouted enthusiastically as she sidled closer to him and attempted to throw an arm around him.

Attempted being the right word as Naruto deftly shifted himself not allowing her too. After all as much as he found himself becoming fond of Anko's company and as attractive as he found her, he was not about to let a potentially hostile Shinobi put their arm around him in the centre of a possibly hostile Shinobi Village.

"And on another note I think we are here." Naruto said as he glanced over at Anko, unsurprised to see the smirk on her face. A rude or crass comment probably on the tip of her tongue as she made to respond to Naruto's avoidance of physical contact. Maybe her sly response would be about how she won't bite, unless he wanted her too. Or perhaps a comment on his sexuality. It seemed like the kind of thing she would ask.

"So we are." Anko said instead the smirk still present on her face as she locked eyes with Naruto for a few moments, before reached passed him and knocked on the door. Anko deliberately glancing to the side as she did to where a hidden ANBU was lying in wait, their attention fully on the pair of them. "It looks like this is it then. I will likely see you a month from now at the next stage of the exams."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that surprised that she wasn't going to loiter about hoping to intercept him before he could go home.

Anko however shrugged. "My shift starts in a few minutes and I am working for the rest of the day, I very much doubt you will stick around long enough for me to finish my duties today."

"So does that mean you expect a hug and a tearful good bye?" Naruto asked dryly.

"Just a good bye will do for now, the tears can wait until later!" Anko replied a wicked twinkle in her eye as she gave Naruto a saucy look.

For once Naruto was glad he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Alright then, I will see you in a month." Naruto suddenly said with a shrug, seeing no harm in humouring the woman, even if he barely knew her his interaction with her had been quite amusing and positive so far.

"Yep see you round Grimmy, good luck with the meeting!" Anko said with a grin before she vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves, a quick Shunshin taking her away just before the door of the Hokage's Office opened.

 **( - )**

 **(In the Hokage's Office)**

Entering the Hokage's Office, Naruto found himself confronted with surprisingly few people. With only Minato and Jiraiya being visibly present, with a few ANBU Shinobi lurking in the shadows keeping an eye on Naruto, a possibly hostile Shinobi when he was in such close proximity to the Hokage.

Not that they really should be that worried, because Naruto, if he did even want to attack his father very much doubted he would be able to survive taking on the Jiraiya the Legendary Toad Sage and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and the Yellow Flash at the same time. Naruto very much doubted his chances against either one of them if he were to engage them one on one, or at least at the moment. The chances of him defeating them both at the same time, well that was pretty much zero. Still though constant vigilance was one of the mottos of the Shinobi, they were constantly on guard and constantly keeping an eye out for hostiles.

Stepping into the room Naruto found himself getting pierced by the cold blue eyes of Minato, the older blonde looking at Naruto carefully. His gaze going from Naruto's cropped hair, to his crimson eyes with their black sclera, to his short yet heavily muscled frame. Noticing as he did the battle scars that littered Naruto's bare arms, and the small Fuuninjutsu seals tattooed on his wrists. Simple yet effective storage seals, a type that was commonly used by the Uzumaki Clan when they were still around.

Narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at Naruto, his sharp gaze seeing more than most would be able to glean, Minato finally spoke. "Pain of Kirigakure, or is it Grimm… I forget?"

It was a bit of a petty comment but Naruto wasn't going to kick up a fuss. Instead he simply set his shoulders and gave Minato a nod, a small but noticeable sign of respect and deference. As although their Villages may not be allied, Minato was still the Hokage, a leader of a powerful Shinobi Village and a legendary Shinobi in his own right.

It was expected of Naruto to comport himself in a way that properly represented Kiri, even if that meant having to show a bit of deference to a Kage that was not his own. As although he was born in Konoha, the son of Minato he didn't see the man as anything other than his father. After all Mei was his Mizukage, she was the leader he chose and as such she was the leader he will serve.

"Either will do." Naruto replied neutrally a casual shrug of his shoulders as he gazed around the room taking in the large windows that looked over Konoha, the pictures of the former Hokage's that lined the walls and finally the neatly stacked mounds of documents and paperwork that covered Minato's desk.

Minato nodded at that, leaning back in his chair as he surveyed Naruto.

Leaning against the window, just to the Hokage's side Jiraiya also looked at Naruto. Comparing the image of Pain of Kirigakure the young Shinobi standing before him to that of Grimm the Missing-nin, and seeing him for what he truly was.

Without a doubt the kid was a prodigy to have reputation and skill likes his at his age meant nothing less, but he wasn't a monster like the Bingo Book suggested, but a young man, a Shinobi faithfully serving his Village. It was admirable trait and Jiraiya knew that holding Kakashi's death against Pain was petty. After all the he had killed dozens of Kiri Shinobi during his service to Konoha, and had killed dozens of Outcasts too. People who were just making a living but who happened to be his enemy at the time.

Letting out a sigh as he saw the silence between Minato and Pain extend Jiraiya decided to speak up. "Minato, I am sure Pain and his team need to be leaving soon."

The comment was said lightly, little more than a slight prompt but it seemed to do the trick as will a loud sigh Minato brought his hand to his face and massaged his temple.

"I will make this simple Pain, currently the Konoha has a bounty on your head as I am sure you know. A bounty that was placed on you after you cut down Kakashi Hatake, a loyal and long serving member of Konoha." Minato finally said, leaning forwards in his chair as he carefully studied Pain. Laying out the facts as they stood, not bothering to cushion them.

Naruto didn't verbally respond however, he merely nodded his head acknowledging that what Minato said was accurate. After all what else could he say; 'Yeah sorry about that… my bad?' because that would sound sincere.

"Despite that though you still came to Konoha and entered the Village under what I am guessing is your real name?" Minato continued looking to Naruto for confirmation, only to receive a blank look in response. "From there you became a proctor in the Chunin Exams and ended up saving my daughters from the Missing-nin Orochimaru when he infiltrated the Forest of Death during the second stage of the exam."

Minato paused again here.

"And you would like a report on the goings on in the Forest of Death?" Naruto asked curiously, guessing that the purpose of this meeting would likely be an informal interrogation of sorts.

"We'll come to that later, suffice to say the testimonies of Mito, Erza, Sasuke and Anko have given us a good idea of just what happened in the forest before and after Orochimaru attacked. Anything else you can give us will be useful, but as you are a Shinobi that does not fall under my command I can't order you to give that information away." Minato said bluntly once again showing no qualms about presenting facts as they were. A surprisingly refreshing trait and one which Naruto very much appreciated. "No I called you here so I could get the measure of you."

"The measure of me?" Naruto queried confused now as to just what Minato was up to and why it involved him.

Minato nodded at that steepling his fingers in front of them as he looked intently at Naruto. "Yes, you killed my student Kakashi but left his genin team alive, a team that included the last Uchiha and one of my daughters. Things would have been easier for you if you had killed them leaving no witnesses, or had kidnapped them. The last Uchiha would be seen as an incredibly valuable commodity in the Shinobi world, as to would my daughter a Jinchuuriki and one of the last few Uzumaki's as well as the child of the Yellow Flash."

Naruto blinked as he heard that, knowing for a fact that what Minato said was true but surprised that he was so openly stating it. On top of that was his casual announcement of his daughters status as a Jinchuuriki, then again Minato had obviously been told that Naruto had witnessed both of his daughter's when they were using the Kyuubi's chakra and so saw no point in hiding the facts.

"Yet you left them alive and relatively unscathed this raises questions to me, about both your character and aim." Minato continued his gaze not leaving Naruto, who met is stare with one of his own. Fiery Scarlet eyes meeting cold blue ones. "This was further compounded by your actions in the Forest of Death."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, feeling distinctly uncomfortable as Minato analyzed him, it wasn't a feeling he enjoyed.

"Where you fought Orochimaru of the Sannin in single combat, all in order to protect my daughters and the last Uchiha. Despite the danger it presented to you, and the fact Konoha has a large bounty on your head." Minato finished an expectant look on his face, his gaze never leaving Naruto's half hidden face. "My question is why?"

"Maybe I was feeling generous." Naruto commented dryly.

"Considering you in your capacity as Grimm are known to be completely ruthless and merciless with a kill rate far beyond that of even a seasoned Jounin, I doubt it." Jiraiya cut in, eluding to the information he had gotten from his spy network. Where he had found out that Grimm have never missed a target, and had never left one alive unless ordered otherwise. There was not much information on Grimm or his team, they were careful that way, but their ruthlessness and lack of mercy was one thing that all his sources corroborated.

Naruto gave Jiraiya a bored look at that, having heard of the Toad Sage's vast spy network. "Maybe I was looking out for the interests of Kiri then?"

"I doubt it, if you had killed the genin in the Land of Waves then no one would have been able to trace it to you or Kiri, and if you had stayed out of Orochimaru's way then no one could have proved you were fully aware of his presence and chose to do nothing." Jiraiya replied nonchalantly.

"We've already discussed your motives and have come to the conclusion that it is somehow personal." Minato spoke up again looking carefully at Naruto. "There is a personal reason you protected my daughters and the last Uchiha."

Naruto gave him a blank look at that, though internally he was beginning to get worried. After all he didn't want to be found out, not unless he wanted to be and currently he didn't want to be.

"I believe you are of the Uzumaki Clan, your ability to use a form of chakra chains suggests that much. I believe you are in some way closely related to my wife and daughters and that is why you protected them." Minato stated, leaning forward his expression fixed on Naruto's eyes looking for any reaction.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Naruto's scarlet eyes at the conclusion Minato had come to and it appeared that was all Minato need.

Leaning back in his chair he nodded his head. "I thought so, you are an Uzumaki, no doubt descended from someone who joined the Outcasts after the fall of Uzu. That is why you protected my family, because they are a part of your Clan."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, a flicker of amusement passing through him as he heard just how close Minato was to figuring out his connection to Kushina, Erza and Mito and yet just how far he was.

"And if I am?" Naruto queried as he looked between Minato and Jiraiya. "Is Konoha going to offer me sanctuary as a former ally of Uzugakure?"

Minato's eyes narrowed minutely at that, his jaw tensing slightly. "No, we are not."

"And I thought we were getting along so well." Naruto replied his head tiled to the side and a faint smile hidden behind his half mask. It wasn't like he would have joined Konoha if Minato had offered him a chance, his time in the Hidden Leaf Village was over, Kiri was his home now. The home he chose.

"Your recent actions have been noted. But your previous deeds have not been forgotten." Minato went on to say, leaning back in his chair as he looked somewhat coldly at Naruto, having not forgotten that this was the man who had killed Kakashi, cutting down the powerful shinobi as he protected his team.

"I take it your talking about your old student, Kakashi right?" Naruto asked his gaze idly moving over the room, his senses flared as he swiftly locked onto the soul signatures of Minato, Jiraiya and the four ANBU guards. Having broached such a touchy subject like this Naruto was going to be more on guard than ever.

"Yes." Minato replied bluntly his face stoic as he continued to look at Naruto. "The death of my student still weighs heavily on me, and despite saving my daughters that is something I cannot forgive and will never forget."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, a sudden flash of irritation passing through him at the temerity of Minato. "And since when did I need or ask for your forgiveness? We are not allies Minato Namikaze, Konoha and Kiri are neither allies nor enemies we are distinctly neutral at the moment. That being said we are still two Shinobi Villages, Villages that will come into conflict if our missions intersect. As far as I am concerned Kakashi Hatake died fighting me, doing his duty to his Village. Just as I killed him, doing my duty to my Village. That is all there is to it to Shinobi doing their duty, I see no reason for me to seek forgiveness for being the victor."

Minato didn't respond to that, as he instead looked carefully at Naruto his body motionless and his hands steepled in front of his face. His blue eyes roaming up and down Naruto's face searchingly, his eyes seeming to flash golden momentarily so fast Naruto barely caught it.

Finally after several tense moments Minato gave a brief nod acknowledging Naruto's point but choosing not to give his opinion on it or to talk any more about the subject. "Very well then. Now I would like to talk about what happened in the Forest of Death if you are willing to share. During your fight with Orochimaru did you find out why he so brazenly infiltrated Konoha, or what he is planning?"

Naruto released a breath as he heard the Hokage's pointed questions. Things had almost got unpleasant as Naruto had felt a sudden spike in Minato's chakra. It had only been for a moment but it had nearly caused Naruto to lash out in defense when he saw the sudden flash of gold in Minato's eyes and the sudden feeling of power. Luckily he had stayed his hand and Minato had quickly stopped drawing on his power. Still though it was a tense moment, and not one Naruto would want to happen again.

Pushing away those thoughts for now Naruto instead focused on the question at hand. Noticing as he did that he had the undivided attention of both Minato and Jiraiya. Both of whom seemed very curious about what Naruto could tell them about the goings-on in the Forest of Death and Orochimaru's schemes.

"Unsurprisingly I didn't have much chance to talk to Orochimaru, what with him trying to kill me and all." Naruto eventually replied his tone bland.

Minato narrowed his eyes at that, sensing that Naruto was holding something back. "So you have no idea at all why an S-rank Missing-nin was there or what he might have been after?"

Naruto paused at that, his mind racing as he considered the pros and cons of revealing the information he knew. After all depending on Mei's decision Konoha could be his enemy and only a fool provided information to the enemy. On the other hand though Konoha could be his allies, and an ally without the proper information could be a burden. Naruto was in a difficult situation at the moment, as such he decided to do what came naturally to him and wing it.

"Orochimaru put a mark of some kind on the Uchiha boy, which leaves me to believe he came to the forest for the Uchiha. Your daughters were just collateral damage." Naruto replied carefully telling them what they would already have been told from other people's accounts.

"Yes we already know about Orochimaru putting his cursed seal on Sasuke. Just as we know you somehow removed it?" Jiraiya spoke up, his eyes locked on Naruto in interest, his question quite obvious.

"I'm an Uzumaki." Naruto replied with a nonchalant shrug, easily avoiding giving any real answer with that simple vague explanation.

"Well that is all well and good, but the Medic-nin have informed us that the patch of skin that the cursed seal was placed on has seemingly… rotted. The skin on the Uchiha's neck has desiccated permanently scarring him." Jiraiya commented, a note of accusation in his tone. "They think it might have been caused by some kind of chakra eating poison."

Naruto shrugged at that. "Better a scar than some malevolent seal from the Orochimaru, your former team mate I believe, Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

Jiraiya scowled at that comment, before he could speak again though he was cut off by Minato.

"Do you have any idea what else Orochimaru was here in Konoha for? After all I very much doubt that he risked so much just to put a seal on Sasuke." Minato spoke up ignoring the mounting tension between Jiraiya and Naruto.

Naruto's eyes narrowed fractionally at that, before he shrugged. "Sorry can't help. The fight was swift barely lasting a few minutes. That being said though I would be on guard, after all if he can slip through your security once who's to say he can't do it again."

Minato paused as he heard that, watching Naruto carefully only to receive a look of boredom in return.

"Very well then." Minato nodded his face stoic, he had already been planning on beefing up Konoha's security, but now after Pain's comment he decided to add a little something extra into the mix, just in case Orochimaru did try something similar again. "Thank you for meeting me Pain of Kirigakure and sharing some information, I… look forward to meeting you again at the next stage of the Chunin Exams." Minato continued quite conflicted about Pain as he tried to work out just what he thought of him.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at what was obviously his dismissal. Giving a brief nod back Naruto then turned and began to walk away, purposefully keeping his body relaxed, all the while he mentally preparing himself for anything. When nothing came Naruto left the office, proceeding unhindered through the Hokage's Tower. After which he gathered his team and swiftly made his way out of Konoha.

 **( - )**

 **(With Minato)**

Letting out a sigh as the door closed behind Pain, Minato brought a hand up to his head. His fingers gently massaging the sides of his forehead.

By his side Jiraiya also let out a breath, shaking his head as he did so. "Damn that is one prickly Shinobi."

Minato looked over at Jiraiya curiously as he heard what the Toad Sage said.

Seeing his look the Toad Sage merely shrugged before continuing. "What? Getting answers out of that kid was like trying to get a blood out of a stone."

A flicker of amusement passed across Minato's face as he heard the expression Jiraiya used. The expression was supposed to mean that something was impossible, which getting straight answers out of Pain seemed to be. At the same time though in the Shinobi world nothing was really impossible, there were many weird and wonderfully Shinobi abilities out there in the wide world. Minato had little doubt that somewhere in the world there was a Shinobi who could get blood out of a stone.

Jiraiya oblivious to Minato odd line of thought, instead focused on the matter at hand. "So what do you think then?"

Minato's expression became more serious at that, his mind racing as he thought back on the previous conversation mentally analyzing it. "I'm not entirely sure what I think of him. I believe he knows a lot more than he was letting on, just as I think there is more to him than some Uzumaki Outcast."

"That's an understatement." Jiraiya replied dryly as he too glanced at the door. "There is something more than that though, there is just something a little… off about him."

Minato raised an eyebrow curiously at that. "Off how?"

Jiraiya hummed slightly as he thought, before with a nod he decided to explain. "Just the way he reacted to things. Like his amusement when you noted his connection to Kushina and the girls. Or his annoyance when you spoke of not forgiving him. Or even the hesitancy with which he gave answers, it was almost like he wanted to tell us more but at the same time didn't, like he was conflicted."

Minato nodded at that, having also picked up on those unexplained peculiarities. "Yes I thought the same."

"Is that why you briefly went into Sage Mode?" Jiraiya questioned bringing up the flash of gold he had seen entering Minato's eyes as he had stared at Pain. Minato having remained still for just long enough to absorb a bit of Natural Energy, enough to last a few moments and allow Minato to use his Senjustu enhanced senses.

"So you noticed?" Minato asked in amusement.

"You're a skilled wielder of Senjustu, Minato. But you're not good enough to sneak a Sage Mode transformation past me yet." Jiraiya replied as he shook his head. "So what did you sense from him?"

Minato's brow furrowed as Jiraiya asked this. "It was odd, Pain or whatever his name is. His chakra felt familiar yet at the same time unnatural."

"Maybe the familiarity is from him being an Uzumaki, you do live with three after all?" Jiraiya said a thoughtful expression on his face. "As for unnatural, well Pain is apparently a former Outcast and the Outcasts are pretty famous for having… unique abilities."

"I'm not sure it might have been a Bloodline Ability like you say. But there might be more to it, the sheer amount of power he possessed was incredible probably around Kage level or higher, far too powerful for his age. But that wasn't what felt unnatural, it was the feel of his chakra it just felt wrong." Minato said struggling to put into words how Pain's chakra had felt. "It felt… cold and dark, almost parasitic, it felt like I wasn't just sensing one person chakra but hundreds people's chakra all condensed down into one body. "

Minato shrugged helplessly at that struggling to explain it better.

Across from him a dark expression crossed Jiraiya's face. Minato was much more skilled in the art of Senjutsu than him, his refined control allowing him to do a complete Sage Mode transformation. As such Jiraiya trusted Minato's senses, and what he sensed from Pain, well to Jiraiya it sounded very ominous.

Looking over at Minato, Jiraiya looked curious as he saw the conflicted expression on Minato's face. "Is he dangerous?"

Minato nodded. "Incredibly dangerous. Whether he is a danger to us though I am not sure."

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

It had been about an hour since Naruto had had his meeting with Minato and currently he was running through the treetops not saying a word as he led his team back to Kiri. His pace was brutal, moving through the trees as little more than a blur the others struggling to keep up. His reasons for this was simple though, the open road was a dangerous place for Shinobi and Naruto was carrying very important information.

This was especially true as his actions in the Forest of Death had no doubt garnered him the attention of Orochimaru. A very dangerous Shinobi and one who Naruto would not put above sending out assassins to attack his own 'allies' if it helped his cause.

The minute Naruto had left the Hokage's Tower he had quickly gathered his team and left Konoha. Not giving anyone else the chance to drag him away for some meeting or conversation. No as far as Naruto was concerned all he wanted to do was get back home, give his report to Mei and then go to Mina's and get hammered.

As Naruto ran through the forest tree tops he began to think back on his conversation with Minato, his father. It had been decidedly uncomfortable, far more so than interacting with his mother and sisters. His conversation with Kushina had been quite pleasant all things considered and she was Naruto thought a woman he knew he could get on with. His sisters had also been pleasant, Erza more so than Mito, but that might be because Mito saw the darker side of him. Still though when he returned to Konoha he would likely meet them again, and depending on his allegiance maybe get to know them properly again.

Minato though, that had been far more unpleasant. Maybe it was because they were meeting in a professional sense but Naruto had felt uncomfortable around him. The man saw more than most and had a fearsome intelligence that was quite off-putting. All things considered Naruto was decidedly unsure about his father. Though that might be a bit unfair considering Naruto had met the man when he was in Hokage mode.

Thinking back on it that private meeting could have been the perfect time for Naruto to reveal his relation to Minato. He likely could have revealed that he was Minato's son and then told him everything he knew about the upcoming invasion of Konoha. If he did that he would likely have been welcomed back with open arms, even if there was a bit of awkwardness over Kakashi's death.

Despite that though he hadn't. He hadn't wanted to reveal himself nor had he wanted to return to Konoha. Maybe he had spent to long living behind his mask. Either way he had made his decision and that was to remain with Kiri and retain his secrets for now. Maybe later at a different time or in a different place he can properly reunite with his family, it would never go back to how it was before. But after meeting them all again he didn't' want there to be another three years before he saw his mother and sisters again.

Shaking his head Naruto pushed those thoughts aside for now, instead focusing on the mission at hand. A distracted Shinobi was a dead Shinobi. When on a mission a Shinobi should be focused entirely on what they were doing, where they were and who their enemy was, to the exclusion of all else.

Not giving any more thought to his meeting with Minato, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he continued to run through the tree tops. Treading the same path he had taken once before, on the night he had run away from Konoha.

 **( - )**

 **(A few days later in Kirigakure with Naruto)**

A large smile spread across Naruto face as he entered the Village of Kirigakure, his team of three tiredly following behind him. As he passed through the Village gates, sharing a nod with the two members of the Okorimashita Clan who were on watch duty. The two hulking Shinobi nodding respectfully to Naruto as eh passed between them.

As Naruto walked through the gates and into the village proper he was fully aware that the eagle sharp eyes of some members of the Katame Clan were trained on him, bows in hand as they watched the new entrants before their attention was once again turned beyond the walls of Kiri.

Walking up the main high street, unbothered by the slight mist that hung in the air, Naruto headed for his destination the Mizukage's Tower. A faint smile was on his face as he found himself being greeted by Shinobi he passed in the streets. Both the former rebels and former Outcasts were very enthusiastic with their greetings as Naruto passed. Many of them calling out to him or stopping current activities to greet him.

Their enthusiasm was not unwarranted after all Naruto had made quite a name for himself in Kiri both during the rebellion when he had worked in torture and interrogation before he took to the battlefield and helped bring down the Fourth Mizukage. And later after the civil war when he and his team had made a name for themselves as some of the most infamous Hunter-nin around and most recently when he had become the latest of Kiri's S-rank Shinobi. The others being Mei Terumi and Utakata of Kirigakure the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi.

Now with Naruto there were now three active S-rank Shinobi in Kiri, bringing more clients and acclaim to the Village.

Coming to a stop Naruto turned around to look at Suigetsu, Hogan and Chojuro, his three 'genin'.

"You three head off and remember the mission and any details about it is completely classified." Naruto said as he noticed his three teammates were looking tired. No doubt wiped out by the grueling pace he had set as he sought to return to Kiri as soon as he could. "You have a month before we return to Konoha for the next stage, and during that month you will be training with me and a few others, training to become the strongest you can be."

"I take it we are not training for the Chunin Exams?" Hogan said curiously. "After all we are already more than strong enough to beat even the toughest of genin."

Naruto glanced over at him, an amused look on his face at the claim. After all fighting a Jinchuuriki was a hard task, and in the Exams there were three. He appreciated Hogan's confidence, but somehow he thought he might be underestimating the competition. "You can never be too strong."

Suigetsu let out an irritated snort at that completely missing Naruto's amusement as he like Hogan underestimated his opponents. "So what is the real reason? Are you ever going to tell us the exact parameters of our mission or are you going to continue being vague?"

"I will inform you as soon as I myself know. For now all you need to do is spend this next month honing your skills." Naruto replied his scarlet eyes flicking over Suigetsu a warning expression on his face making Suigetsu look away uncomfortably.

"You can rely on us." Chojuro spoke up, cutting off any more comments from Suigetsu and gaining a nod from Naruto. As at least Chojuro knew how to comport himself.

"I know I can, and I promise I will tell you what I can when I can." Naruto replied with a slight sigh, knowing how annoying it must be for the three of them to be involved in a mission without actually knowing just what the mission objective was. Still though orders were orders and until Mei had decided on the course of action they will be taking and a proper plan was in place there was only so much he could tell them.

Hogan nodded at that. "Alright then, a month of training, I suppose it could be worse. Hey Pain, you fancy meeting up at Mina's later for a drink?"

Naruto grinned as he heard that his eyes flicking back to his old friend. "Sounds like a plan, I'll grab Clementine and Victor and drag them there too."

"I doubt you will need to do much dragging!" Hogan said with a loud laugh as he reached out and clapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"I'll see you later Hogan." Naruto said with a slight smile and a nod. "You two can tagalong too if you want?" he continued as he glanced over at the other two.

Suigetsu shrugged noncommittally in response.

Chojuro however gave Naruto a slight smile. "I'll be happy to come along."

"Good." Naruto said with a nod as he turned away from his team. "Now I've got to see the Mizukage and give her my report."

"Good luck." Hogan said calling after Naruto as he began to walk away. Both Suigetsu and Chojuro walking in the other direction and heading for the Seven Swordsmen's barracks and training grounds.

Naruto gave Hogan a final nod before he turned around and headed for the Mizukage's Tower, he had a report to give.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think I hope you enjoyed it I was tempted to carry on and include the conversation with Mei but I decided to cut it here and cover that next chapter. Still though I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and as always if you have any comments or suggestions I am happy to hear them.**

 **Hopefully in another chapter's time we will get to the third exam where shit really starts to take off.**

 **So yeah other than that I hope you all leave a comment or a review.**

 **See you all later, I hope you have a good year and a good night!**

 **Seagate.**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: So it's been a while hasn't it, sorry about that have been distracted by other things. Still thanks to a number of impassioned and highly supportive reviews and messages I decided to get my arse into gear, scrape of the rust and get this long awaited chapter out. Will admit I wrote all this in a day, but am pretty happy with it all the same. Also I manage dot get another story, my Harry Potter/ DC one done in the same day, so all things considered I am pretty happy with that.**

 **Either way I hope you all like it and leave a comment or review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Naruto grinned as he heard that, his eyes flicking back to his old friend as he did so. "Sounds like a plan, tell you what I'll grab Clementine and Victor and drag them there too."_

 _"I doubt you will need to do much dragging!" Hogan said with a loud laugh as he reached out and clapped Naruto on the shoulder._

 _"I'll see you later Hogan." Naruto said with a slight smile and a nod. "You two can tagalong too if you want?" he continued as he glanced over at the other two._

 _Suigetsu shrugged noncommittally in response._

 _Chojuro however gave Naruto a slight smile. "I'll be happy to come along."_

 _"Good." Naruto said with a nod as he turned away from his team. "Now I've got to see the Mizukage and give her my report."_

 _"Good luck." Hogan said calling after Naruto as he began to walk away. Both Suigetsu and Chojuro walking in the other direction and heading for the Seven Swordsmen's barracks and training grounds._

 _Naruto gave Hogan a final nod before he turned around and headed for the Mizukage's Tower, he had a report to give._

( - )

Chapter 22

( - )

(With Naruto, In Kiri)

"My Lady Terumi." Naruto said with a slight nod as he entered the Mizukage's office, his eyes automatically flicking around the room as he did so, searching out the positions of the four Kiri Anbu he knew would hidden around the room. This was a natural reaction for most Shinobi, one drilled into them instinctively due to the training and experience they gained out on missions or on the field

After noting their positons, helped along by his unique abilities, Naruto relaxed slightly, his gaze instead moving to the desk in the centre of the room and the people behind it, his scarlet eyes immediately noting the two men standing either side of the beautiful red haired woman sat at the desk, her two most trusted advisors.

The first of the two men being Ao, a grumpy middle aged man, one who was currently wearing a set of fancy blue robes, and had a distinctive black eyepatch over his right eye, with a simple black seal etched visibly into it.

Looking at the man, Naruto had to hide his distaste, Ao's abrasive attitude often rubbing Naruto the wrong way, it was a feeling that Naruto knew was mutual. In fact in Naruto's mind the stuffy man's only redeeming qualities were his unflinching loyalty to Mei and Kiri, and the fact that beneath that eyepatch he had a stolen Byakugan, something which was quite an assessment for the Village, especially since it was hidden by the seal on the man's eyepatch, making it somewhat of a trump card.

As for the other advisor, Naruto smiled as he saw he observed that man, his hand coming up and pulling his half mask down, fully revealing his face to the room as he sent his old friend, Furui, a roguish grin. One which the eyeless old man returned, as he shifted to look at Naruto with his sightless eyes, his gummy mouth curving up into a crooked smile of his own.

"Pain." Mei said dryly, looking up from her work seemingly completely unsurprised by Naruto's sudden entrance. The red head woman looking amused by Naruto's sudden entrance, as opposed to annoyed, though that being said a Kage had to act in a certain way. With that in mind, her gaze instead locked on Naruto, her eyes softening and a slight smile appearing on her face. "Normally it is expected that my Shinobi knock when they want to see me."

Naruto shrugged at that, his gaze now landing on Mei, noticing her smirk as he did so, his red orbs tracing up her lithe form and delicate facial feature, before his lips curled into a smile of his own. "I don't really see the point, especially since Furui probably heard me coming from a mile away. Beside I thought that you'd want to see me promptly considering the news I'm bringing back?"

Mei rolled her eyes at that, before she clasped her hands in front of her and gave Naruto an expectant look. "So, am I to take it that your mission in Konoha was productive?"

"You could say that yeah, not only is our 'genin' team into the final round of the Chunin Exams, but I've also managed to track down one of the Otokage's operatives and get an outline of the invasion plan, as well as information on both the forces both sides." Naruto continued, his tone filled with satisfaction as he remembered confronting Kabuto in the Forest of Death and the things he'd discovered when he'd consumed the brat's soul. Suffice to say it had been very enlightening, and also quite a lucky break considering the wealth of information Orochimaru's former assistant was privy to.

Mei smiled at that, flashing the white of her teeth as she sat back in her chair.

"I take it you were discrete when going about your… interrogation?" Ao spoke up brusquely, his single visible eye fixed on Naruto and his mouth set in a thin line.

"As I always am." Naruto replied bluntly, meeting the man's gaze for a moment, his crimson irises boring into him, before he looked back to Mei, his gaze softening as he did so.

"And what have you found?" Mei pushed, holding back a sigh as she saw the animosity between her second in command Ao and her Ace, even now three eyars later and neither one of them was too keen on the other. It could sometimes be tiring and also potentially problematic, however it was an unavoidable personality clash, thankfully though they were able to remain civil, their loyalty to the Village trumping their dislike of each other.

"Well for one the Otokage is actually Orochimaru, and Otogakure is not a proper Shinobi Village, not in the conventional way, instead it is a massive underground bunker that Orochimaru uses as his main base in Rice Country." Naruto rattled off bluntly, prioritizing the information he had as he began to sort through everything he had learned from Kabuto's short term memories, which had been a lot, though there were a few specific details with Orochimaru's plans that the boy hadn't been privy to, which left a few gaps in Naruto's Intel.

"Orochimaru, Konoha's traitorous Snake Sannin?" Mei said, her mouth forming into a thin line as she began to drum her fingers on the top of her table. Her brow furrowing as she thought on what she knew of the man, which in its self was based on Konoha's Bingo Book, rumours and the few scraps of information her spies had found out. Even so she knew enough to be wary when his name was brought up, especially since he was apparently her potential ally. "This is could be concerning."

"As is the fact that he was already in Konoha during the Chunin Exams." Naruto added on, before upon seeing Mei's questioning look her expanded on the claim. Thinking back to their short but brutal confrontation when he found the bastard trying to hurt his sisters, yeah Naruto still wasn't all that pleased about that. "I met him during the Second Stage of the Exam, in Konoha's Forest of Death."

"Did you fight him?" Ao asked sharply, his single visible eye narrowing.

"Yes, since I didn't want to give away that I knew he was the Otokage I confronted him as was expected of me since I was acting as a proctor, though I wouldn't call it a fight, more of a skirmish." Naruto responded, shrugging his shoulders as he looked over at Mei. "I managed to drive him off, but I think that was mainly because he'd already accomplished what he'd set out to do."

"You did the right thing, we don't want to tip our hand, not yet, not until we have come to a final conclusion on what our plan going forward will be." Mei spoke up, giving Naruto a nod as she did so. Even now despite knowing who they might be getting into bed with she hadn't made her mind up about what she would do, nor would she, not until she had all the information and had gone through it with her advisors, putting together plans for multiple scenarios.

"Pain? Did you find out what the Sannin was there for?" Furui suddenly spoke up, the other three looking to him curiously as he did so.

"From what I've managed to work out, Orochimaru went to the forest so he could confront the genin team with Sasuke Uchiha on it, all so he could put a 'Cursed Seal' on him." Naruto replied, his gaze now on the blind Outcasts opposite him. "From what I've found out he's planning to capture the boy sooner or later, all so he can get at his Sharingan."

"What are you thinking Furui?" Mei asked, looking from Naruto to the older Shinobi. The young Mizukage having long since found the old Outcast's wisdom and experience very useful.

"I have feeling that Orochimaru's plan for invading Konoha may be a smokescreen, such an obvious and blunt display, it does not fit in with what I've heard about the Sannin." Furui said carefully, his expression darkening as he spoke of the foul Snake Sannin, a man that had plagued the Outcasts for many years now, often trying to hunt them down and capture them for dissection and experimentation.

"It could be a revenge plot, Orochimaru was denied the position of Hokage and was later banished from Konoha after all?" Naruto questioned, uncertain now as to what Furui as getting at. The information he'd gotten from Kabuto had been informative but it hadn't shed any light on Orochimaru's true motives, after all the man seemed to have multiple ambitions and objectives and very rarely shared anything too personal with is assistant.

"It could be, and that may likely be a part of it." Furui muttered, before he looked over to Mei. "I think his main reason though is to create a smokescreen, a distraction he could use to get what he wants, which form what Pain said might be the Uchiha boy, or potential a whole host of the other Bloodline users that call the Village home?"

"So the invasion is a sham?" Mei asked with a scowl, not liking the fact that Orochimaru had tried to use Kiri and herself to achieve his own goals.

"I wouldn't say that. He probably is hoping for it to succeed and will work towards that end, but a Shinobi of his caliber will have a backup plan so that he doesn't go home empty handed if the invasion fails." Furui continued, his expression thoughtful as he continued to outline his thoughts on the whole thing.

"So the invasion plan is legitimate, but Orochimaru has other plans in the works if it fails." Mei questioned before she got a nod from Furui, her mind racing as she considered the potential from that. With three Villages working together Konoha could be conquered, and Kiri would secure itself a third of the loot. However if they helped Konoha fend off the invasion, then it was possible they'd get a new alliance and trade agreements from Konoha and the Land of Fire.

"Pain, I want you to tell me everything you know of Konoha's defences and Orochimaru and Suna's forces and their plans for the invasion. After that I want your assessment of Konoha's forces and defences. I want a full picture before I make a decision on what side we will choose." Mei spoke up, her expression intense as she looked up at Naruto.

Naruto in response gave her a curt nod, before he told her everything he had seen and leanerd whilst he in Konoha, hiding no detail from her as he set it all out. After which as he, alongside Mei's other advisors made their own suggestions to Mei about the best route for Kiri to take, as they all debated over the potential paths to take and the benefits from those. All of them trusting in their Kage to take their opinions into account when she came to a final decision about which direction she would take the Village going forward.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later, in Kiri)**

It was later that evening, about six hours after he had first arrived in Kiri that Naruto finally walked out of the Mizukage's tower, still wearing his dark coloured Shinobi gear as he stepped into the busy high street, hiding a yawn as he pushed away his lingering exhaustion. A very fast journey from Konoha to Kiri, followed by a six hour meeting with Mei and her advisors going over everything he had found out and hashing out their plans going forward, it had all taken a lot out of him.

Ideally Naruto like nothing more than to just crash right now, he just wanted to head back to his apartment, strip of his foul smelling Shinobi gear off and have a long, very hot bath. Then after that he could just collapse onto his bed and sleep for the next ten hours. Unfortunately though he'd made some promises to head to Mina's, Kiri's most popular Shinobi bar so he could meet up with his old teammates Clementine and Viktor, both of whom would likely be in the bar considering the time.

That being said Naruto was going to still go along and meet up with them, after all he hadn't seen them for some time, not since he had gone to Konoha, and they had both joined the newest iteration of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. With Clementine having taken up Zabuza Momochi's old blade the, Kubikiribocho, whilst Viktor had begun wielding the, Nubari, a sword that looked more like an oversized sewing needle than an actual sword.

That being said he was still looking forward to seeing them, a week or so may not seem like long, but considering the three of them had been a Hunter-nin team, it was probably the longest they had been apart since they first meet all those years ago. Not that he'd be getting all emotional about it, as he knew neither of them would be.

Wandering down the Kiri high street, Naruto didn't even bother to pull his half mask back up, not when he was in his hometown. Instead he wended his way through the still busy streets, the other residents both Shinobi and civilians alike making room for him as he headed for the bar he knew both of his friends likely were, along with Hodan and potential Suigetsu and Chojuro if Hodan had manage dot drag them there..

Entering the bar a few minutes later, Naruto sent a half wave over to the white haired Mina, the girl in question currently lounging on the bar drinking a glass of some kind of crimson liquid, acknowledging his fellow Outcast as he passed, before he scanned the room and quickly locked onto to where his friend were, the group having taken over a round table near the bar.

Upon seeing them, Naruto quickly headed in that direction, only pausing long enough to relieve a very drunk Chunin of his drink as he passed. The man, who looked to be in his early twenties, not noticing as he instead continued to boast to his little group of friends about his 'mighty' exploits.

Not that Naruto cared to listen as he instead grabbed a seat at the table and collapsed into it, rubbing his eyes as he tried to stave off a headache. After which he took a gulp of his new drink, after of course sniffing it for poison and the like, a slight grimace passing across his face as the he swallowed the rough tasting alcohol.

"Well you look like shit." Clementine spoke up bluntly a few moments after Naruto sat down, an amused grin on her face as her pink eyes locked on him. The lithe blonde looking entirely unconcerned as she lounged backwards in her chair, a tumble of golden coloured spirit in one hand and a wide catlike smirk on her face.

"Well I feel like it to." Naruto replied bluntly, looking up at the girl as he did so. His gaze passing over her shoulder length golden hair and attractive doll like features, which were only marred by the now borderline sadistic smile on her face. The girl having thankfully still not sharpened her teeth like Viktor and the other Swordsmen of the Mist had, something Naruto was pretty thankful for.

"Rough time in Konoha?" Viktor asked in amusement, grabbing Naruto's attention as he looked over to the member of the Stein Clan, noticing as he did so that the older boy who, although still wearing his white coat with his new sword strapped across his back, did look to have a gained few more stiches on his arms and face than he used to have.

"What? As if a couple of tree huggers would bother Pain." Clementine laughed, before she slammed her fist down on the table to emphasis her point.

Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "Nah it wasn't that bad in Konoha, surprisingly pleasant actually. No, I'm just tired, I only got back a few hours ago and have been in a debriefing with Mei ever since."

"Several hours trapped alone in a room with Mei? That sounds like wet dream for you!" Clementine grinned, her pink eyes flashing with glee when she saw Naruto roll his eyes once more, though his lips did twitch upwards in amusement.

"Yes, well Furui and that prick Ao were there to." Naruto replied dryly, more than used to his friend's comments by now, after all anyone would used to them after spending more than three years with the crazy, foulmouthed girl.

"So you weren't interested in a foursome then?" Clementine shot back, before she grimaced as she actually thought about what that would look like.

"Don't be disgusting Clementine," Viktor groaned as he too had a mental picture of that horror show.

Letting out a slight chuckle at his friend's comments, Naruto decided to swiftly change the topic. "So how about you to, how's the training coming?"

"Basic trainings done, and we're both now officially, full members of the Seven Swordsmen." Viktor replied with a shrug, before expanding on the point when he saw Naruto's incredulous expression. "When I say basic training that's just learning what the weapons do and incorporating them into our existing style."

Naruto nodded at that, as that made far more sense than them learning an entirely new style of fighting, especially since they were both already A-rank Shinobi without the blades.

"I take it you had a bit of trouble with that?" Naruto asked eyeing up Viktor's new stitches as he did so.

"Yeah, but nothing I couldn't sort out." Viktor replied nonchalantly as he traced on of his fingers down the new stiches on his arms and face. "You'd be surprised how compatible a member of the Stein Clan is to using a sword which is basically an oversized sewing needle. It'll make replacing my limbs and organs so much easier!"

Naruto smiled slightly at that, before he looked away from his two closest friends, to the other two people at the table. "Hodan, take it you're all recovered?"

"Still aching a bit, but I reckon I'll be alright in the morning." Hodan shrugged, the other teen having stripped himself of his armour now as he instead wore civilians clothes. "Also I tried to get both Chojuro and Suigetsu to come, but Mangetsu managed to corner them first. I think that psycho is still drilling them in their swordsmanship even now."

"Well you better be, Mei has ordered me to take you and the other two brats and run through some training with you. Hopefully Mangetsu isn't too harsh on them, I don't want to be inconvenienced by that twat." Naruto sighed out, hiding his irritation at that order as he would have preferred to take a few missions instead, just so he could hunt down some souls to consume. Still there were always the prisoners Kiri kept, and the training wouldn't be as bad as he likely though it would be, after all he was probably going to be facing off with some powerful Shinobi when they went to Konoha a month from now the more time he had to hone his skills the better.

"I take it this is related to your previous mission?" Viktor asked carefully, ignoring the comment about Mangetsu, a fellow member of the Seven Swordsmen, after all Pain made a good point, the guy could be an arrogant wanker sometimes.

Naruto sent him a look at that, his eyes trailing over to the bored looking Clementine as he did so. "Sorry, I can't say it's classified. It's the same with a lot of my missions, you know how it is. Cant' be too careful, especially in a Shinobi bar."

"Don't worry about it Pain, we know what that shit's like. I mean we've also been grounded in Kiri for the next month as well, and have been set to training and honing our skills." Clementine spoke up abruptly, before her tone turned sarcastic. "And considering we're to act as the Mizukage's body guards when she goes to Konoha next month for the Exams, I wonder whether our missions are at all related?"

"I'm sure you'll be fully briefed by Mei at a later date." Naruto replied, smiling slightly as he heard Clementine's comment, but saying no more, his gaze instead drifting over to the final person at the table, someone he vaguely recognised, even if he couldn't quite recall her name.

The girl looked to be around Naruto and Clementine's age, with long waist length black hair which was currently tied back in a ponytail, pale flawless skin, and dark solemn looking eyes. Overall, Naruto would probably say she was quite an attractive girl. On top of that he could almost immediately tell that the girl was a Shinobi, a strong one to by the looks of both her build, and presence. As well as that he could tell she obviously wasn't too keen on Naruto, if the borderline frosty look she sent him was any indication.

Following Naruto's gaze, Clementine let out a snort of amusement as she saw he didn't recognise their other companion. "What's the matter Pain, don't know who she is?"

Naruto sent Clementine a scowl as he heard that, before he looked back to the girl about to introduce himself.

Before he could however he was interrupted by the girl herself.

"I know who you are Pain, or should I say Grimm." The girl said, her tone as cold as he gaze. "My name is Haku, and I believe we met briefly in Wave, just before you gave your friends the order to kill my Master."

Naruto frowned as he heard that, shovigin away any awkwardness as he instead realised who this girl was. "You're that Yuki girl we brought back aren't you?"

"Yes." Haku replied, her tone still quite cold.

Naruto smiled uncomfortably at that. "Well I suppose it's nice to meet you properly, How are you settling back into Kiri."

Haku narrowed her eyes at that, before she lightly shrugged her shoulders. "It is more tolerable than I thought it would be, I am encouraged to train regularly and Lady Terumi has been very welcoming. It is far different than it was under the rule of the Fourth Mizukage."

"Well that's good," Naruto trailed off. "I take it there is no hard feelings about bringing you back here."

"I have accepted my new position, and although I am… unhappy that Master Zabuza was killed, I am otherwise content." Haku replied, her tone still a bit cold, making Naruto question whether she was really as content as she made herself out to be.

"Oh she's so polite isn't she?" Clementine suddenly exclaimed, throwing one of her arms around the stiff girl's shoulders as she did so, dragging the now visibly flustered girl in for a half hug. "But don't worry she warms up to you. You should have seen how pissy she was with me when we first met, but now look at us, we're like the best of friends."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, especially when he could see a Haku's eye twitching as she tried to squirm out of Clementine's grasp. "I see…"

"I mean don't get me wrong she tried to kill me a few times, but after kicking her arse half a dozen times she calmed down." Clementine continued, releasing the girl now as she did so. Much to Haku's obvious relief, though Naruto did note that she didn't try to move away from Clementine as he thought she might do.

"Well you can't really blame her for attacking you Clementine, I mean you did tell her to her face that you were the one that 'gutted Zabuza like a pig'." Viktor replied, using air quotes as he word for word repeated what the crass girl had said.

"Meh." Clementine shrugged, not at all concerned for a moment that she might have been rude.

"Classy as always." Naruto sighed, before he smiled slightly.

"You know it." Viktor grinned as he looked over and saw that Clementine was now once again teasing Haku, not in a malicious way though, more in a way a friend would taunt another friend.

"You know, maybe the next month won't be so bad. It'll almost be like a holiday." Hodan suddenly spoke up, an amused smile on his face as he watched the others interact. The other teen having never really been as close with the other three, he having instead become a standard Shinobi as oppose to specializing his skillset like the three assassins/ Hunter-nin before him had.

Naruto grinned at that. "Well it'll be like a holiday for us, for you though my little genin, it'll be hell on earth!"

Hodan groaned at that, ignoring the fact that he was technically still a Jounin, just one that had been demoted. "You're going to be a right dick to us aren't you?"

"Come on Hodan, I mean you've met Pain haven't you, surely you should know by now what he's like" Clementine laughed, both Viktor and Naruto joining in as Hodan let out a loud groan. "He's going to be a right pain!"

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha)**

"Hyah!" Erza shouted as she danced forward, a golden blade of chakra in held loosely in each hand as she shot towards the grinning Jiraiya, her face contorted in a mixture of frustration and intense concentration as she swung both of her blades in tandem, her feet barely making a sound as she fluidly moved across the ground, using the momentum of her movements to add extra power to her slashes as she engaged the Toad Sage.

"Predictable!" Jiraiya shouted out loudly as he back stepped, dodging Erza's blades with ease, both of his hands raised as he occasionally thrust out with a palm strike, taking advantage of whatever opening the teenager left to strike her. The older Sannin keeping his strikes at High Jounin level so they would hurt, but wouldn't cripple the girl like they would if he went all out.

"Stop talking!" Erza snarled, her red hair flying about behind her as she spun round, lashing out with a low kick, before she lunged forward and slashed her duel blades forward, the tips of the blade extending half a foot as she did so.

"Whoa close!" Jiraiya laughed as he vanished in a sudden swirl of wind and leaves, only to reappear behind her, one sandaled foot raised as he was already in the midst of unleashing an axe kick aimed at her head.

Jumping back Erza landed on the ground, both palms flat as she reabsorbed her chakra blades into her body, her legs swinging round as she made to kick the Toad Sage, only for a pair of golden coloured chakra chains to erupt from her sandaled feet as she did so, the chains adding extra length and deadliness to her attack as they swung out like whips.

"A surprise counter, I like it!" Jiraiya responded as the golden chains caught him in the gut, both of them severing him in half, or at least they seemed to, only for his body to turn to mud a moment later.

"Gotcha!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he exploded from the ground beneath Erza, his hand clenching around her throat as he fully emerged, lifting the girl up I a single motion and slamming her head first into the ground.

Only for Erza's body to burst into smoke, the smoke obscuring Jiraiya for a moment, as a dozen other Ezra's appeared all around him, all of them wielding golden swords made of Erza's unique chakra, and matching samurai like armour, which again had been formed using the girl's uniquely Uzumaki ability.

"Well shit." Jiraiya muttered as all twelve girls lunged at him, all of them moving with near perfect synchronicity as they rapidly engaged him in close combat, forcing him to get a bit more serious as he dodged and danced around the attacking clones, lashing out with punches and kicks as he tried to destroy the shadow clones the girl was using.

This though turned out to be a mistake because the armour Erza's clones had created meant that each one could take at least half a dozen blows before they burst. Something which caught Jiraiya by surprise, as after striking one down with a blow, one he thought would cause it to explode he turned to another, only to get several nasty slashes along his right arm for the trouble.

Leaping backwards, Jiraiya rapidly went through a number of hand seals before he slammed his hands on the ground, the ground around him erupting into a forest of razor sharp earthen spikes. A move which felled a half dozen of the Erza's as it caught them by surprise, Jiraiya pushing the girl even further now.

The others Erza clones though immediately took advantage of the new terrain as they leapt from spike to spike, increasing their speed and mobility as they used the earthen pillars rapidly closing in on him, each one lashing out at him with several strikes before retreating. Erza having adopted a more hit and run tactic now.

A few minutes later, Jiraiya ended up having to resort to a fire Jutsu as he leapt out of the forest of spikes, his body now littered with dozens of small cuts. Though he didn't come out empty handed as in the previous melee he had managed to destroy another three of the clones.

Flying through a few more hand seals Jiraiya brought his hands up to his mouth this time, before with a grunt he exhaled a massive gout of flames, a move which flooded the entirety of the training yard in a sea of yellow and orange fire.

"That should do it." The white haired Sannin muttered as he allowed the flames to dissipate, his eyes narrowed as he searched the area for Erza, only to be surprised as he saw a dome of golden chakra in the centre of the field.

"Quick thinking, and a solid defense!" Jiraiya shouted out the moment he saw the dome and understood what the girl had done, exploding forward as he did so in a blur of motion, heading straight for the dome of chakra.

Despite his quick actions though, he'd barely made it a few feet before the dome exploded outwards, Erza erupting forward her body now enshrouded in a cloak of bubbling red chakra, the cloak having formed three swishing tails behind her as dashed forward.

Looking at her closer Jiraiya saw that the girl's features had also become feral, her eyes now a burning crimson red colour, even as her face became more angled, her nails growing into claws and her long red hair becoming thicker, with it now waving about behind her like it had a mind of its own.

Pausing for a moment to take this all in, Jiraiya ended up back stepping when he saw Erza draw on her chakra molding abilities once again, a now solid red armour encasing her body, even as a long jagged looking blade appearing in her right hand, her left hand resting on the ground, her claw like nails gouging deeply into the earth.

"Ok, I think that's enough!" A strong authoritative voice shouted out from the side lines, catching both Jiraiya and Erza by surprise as they looked over, Erza relinquishing her grasp on the Kyuubi's chakra as she looked over to see her father standing on the sidelines.

"Father." Erza muttered, her features returning to normal, even as the red cloak around her dissipated, leaving her otherwise unruffled.

"That was good Erza, very good." Minato Namikaze said warmly as he walked over to his daughter, giving her a smile before he patted her shoulder. "You have far better control over you three tailed cloak now, and your combat skills are nearly exemplary. I think you're more than ready for the Chunin Exams."

Erza grinned as she heard that.

"Chunin Exams, if it were me I'd name her a Jounin right here and now!" Jiraiya spoke up loudly, a grin on his own face as he looked down at Erza. "The girl's a prodigy, hell she would have easily kicked Tsunade, Orochimaru and my asses if she fought us when we were her age. I have no damn doubts about that!"

"And I would if I could." Minato replied proudly, Erza blushing faintly as she heard the praise. "But protocol has to be followed, and if I promoted her on the spot, especially from a genin to a Jounin then I'd be accused of nepotism. No it'll be better both for her career and mine that she rises through the ranks as a normal Shinobi would, through either examinations or on field promotions."

"It's ok father, I'm happy to work my way up the ranks. Besides mother always said experience is the best teacher, and I've had nowhere near enough to be a Jounin, not yet." Erza replied, standing up straighter now as she thought about another Shinobi her age, one who was himself a Jounin, but unlike her though he had masses of experience.

Looking down at his daughter Minato frowned slightly, easily reading her expression. "You're thinking of that Pain character aren't you?"

Guiltily Erza looked up at her father at that. "Am I that transparent?"

"Hey kid I wouldn't worry about comparing yourself to a Shinobi like that Pain. There are some people out there that are absolute monsters, born in the crucible of war and death they invariable become S-rank and above quite quickly." Jiraiya spoke up, patting Erza on the shoulder, thinking back to the Shinobi of that caliber that he'd met before, both Hanzo the Salamander and Orochimaru immediately coming to mind, alongside Minato himself. "That being said I think one of those days you'll be at that level, but for now you should just focus on getting stronger on your own and in your own time, don't bother trying to compare yourself to others. That will only lead you on the road to madness."

Erza frowned as she heard that, but nodded all the same.

"Alright then, let's head over to where your mother is training Mito, then we can go get some lunch. You don't want to push yourself too hard, after all the next stage of the Exam's is starting tomorrow." Minato continued, resting his hand on Erza's shoulder as he proceeded to guide her out of the training yard, and to the one both Kushina and Mito had occupied for the last month or so since the Second Stage had finished.

Erza nodded obediently at that, but even so her mind continued to drift back to her memory of Pain. Unable to shake off the bond she had felt with the teen after he'd saved her. She knew she should likely hate him, after all he'd killed Kakashi, despite that though she felt close to him. She wasn't sure why though, nor why she couldn't get him out of her thoughts, it was just that there was something so familiar about him.

 **( - )**

 **(Outside of Konoha, around the same time)**

Above the forests outside of Konoha a ghostly grey coloured hawk soared far above the trees. The bird easily riding on the air currents as it looked down upon the ground, scanning the surrounding area for miles in each direction. Swooping round, the bird glided around, scanning the Village of Konoha for a moment, before without a sound it dispersed into misty grey chakra.

"Looks like we're almost there." Naruto said, releasing his control on his technique as did so, his voice coming out slightly muffled by the black Hunter-nin mask he was wearing as he perched on the branch of a tree and looked over in the direction he knew the gate of Konoha to be. The red eyed teen having just sent out the soul of a bird he'd consumed to scout out the surrounding area, Naruto having been able to see through the bird's eyes thanks to his connection to it.

"Well duh." Clementine replied dryly, the girl wearing her own Hunter-nin mask, as she sat on the tree beside him, both of her legs swinging backwards and forwards as she let out a bored sigh. "I could have told you that half an hour ago, I mean we did just pass a road sign."

Naruto gave her a sour look at that, not that Clementine looked too bothered as she just grinned at him.

"Oi you two stop pissing around." Viktor called up to the two of them from the forest floor, a look of faint irritation on his face as he looked away from the two of them and instead scanned their surroundings. His gaze passing over the tightly packed trees around him, looking for any sign of an ambush.

Letting out a sigh Naruto dropped out of the tree and landed soundless beside Viktor. "And what's crawled up your arse?"

Clementine let out a snort of amusement at that. "Where else do you think he keeps his sword?"

Viktor sent Clementine a withering look at that, a look that lasted for only a moment before his lips twitched upwards. "We have a job to do, and this one isn't just hunting someone down some fucker and killing them. This one is protection detail, protection for a Kage no less."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he heard that. "I know that, and that's why I'm scouting out the way ahead."

"Oh and there I was thinking that was just an excuse so you could get up high and look down Lady Terumi's dress." Clementine replied quickly.

"I think he'd probably say that was a bonus." Viktor added on with a grin.

"Tell me Viktor, has anyone ever sewn your mouth shut before?" Naruto asked drily. "Because if not we can try it out now if you'd like?"

"You're years to later for that my friend, my mother had that idea years ago." Viktor laughed in reply.

"I'd still be willing to give it a go." Naruto replied threateningly, his crimson eyes glinting evilly behind his mask.

"I can hold him down if you need." Clementine added on, her lips curling up in a sadistic smile of her own as she looked over to the suddenly uncomfortable Viktor.

"When you three have finished..." An amused voice spoke up behind them, making all three of them turn around.

"I would like to get to Konoha sooner than later." Mei Terumi continued, her lips curled up in amusement as she saw three of her most powerful Shinobi bickering like children.

"Yes my Lady." Naruto replied, his gaze drifting past Mei to the rest of their group, which consisted of Hodan, Suigetsu and Chojuro, Naruto's 'genin' team, as well as another tall, thin Shinobi with long white hair, violet coloured eyes and sharpened teeth, a Shinobi who looked disarmingly similar to Suigetsu.

That though, wasn't all that surprising considering that he was the other teen's older brother, Mangetsu, who like his brother was another of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Mei rolled her eyes as she heard that, before she swept passed him, her shoulder lightly brushing against Naruto's as she sauntered away, the other four following behind her as she continued the journey to Konoha. With Naruto, Clementine and Viktor quickly following along behind her, after all the Chunin Exams were about to begin.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So there it is, I hope you enjoyed it and leave a review.**

 **Not really got much to say after it, only that the Chunin Exams final round will soon be starting and things will be going crazy for a while, I have some big plans in place. So a lot to look forward to.**

 **Thanks for all the support, and thanks for reading.**

 **Seagate.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: So here is the long awaited last chapter, I hope you all enjoy.**

 **That being said sorry about the wait, honestly I genuinely forgot about this story for a couple of months, after which I then received a few PMs and reviews that reminded me, but still lacked the inclination. This though was because at the time I was not quite as enamored with Naruto stories as I was due in part to some of the more toxic of the fanbase, and some quite rude comments on some of my other Naruto stories.**

 **Still I got there eventually, I received a sudden influx of reviews and PMs about the story just the other day and then decided to finally buckle down and bash out an update, and so four hours hard graft later and here we are, a nice big update for you all.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and leave a review, thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto etc. or any other influences in this story.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Yes my Lady." Naruto replied, his gaze drifting past Mei to the rest of their group, which consisted of Hodan, Suigetsu and Chojuro, Naruto's 'genin' team, as well as another tall, thin Shinobi with long white hair, violet coloured eyes and sharpened teeth, a Shinobi who looked disarmingly similar to Suigetsu._

 _That though, wasn't all that surprising considering that he was the other teen's older brother, Mangetsu, who like his brother was another of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist._

 _Mei rolled her eyes as she heard that, before she swept passed him, her shoulder lightly brushing against Naruto's as she sauntered away, the other four following behind her as she continued the journey to Konoha. With Naruto, Clementine and Viktor quickly following along behind her, after all the Chunin Exams were about to begin._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 23**

 **( - )**

 **(In Konoha)**

"My Lady Mizukage." Minato Naimkaze said respectfully, a slight smile on his face as he gave the striking and powerful red haired woman a slight bow, his gaze shifting momentarily over to the Mizukage's guards, or more specifically to the now familiar figure of Grimm, or rather Pain as he now knew him as, if even that was his real name. "It's an honour to finally meet you in person."

"It's an honour to meet you as well my Lord Hokage, it's not often that one would find one's self in front of the infamous Yellow Flash." Mei replied just as pleasantly, a coy smile spreading across her face as she returned the bow, her green eyes twinkling with hidden amusement.

Minato nodded at that, though his smile did become a bit fixed at the mention of his moniker. The name the Yellow Flash had several connotations for him after all, in part it represented the great feats he had done for his country and Village. However it also was a reference to how he had butcher over a thousand men and women in a single battle. It was a feat that had ended the ongoing war at the time and had both fascinated, intrigued, terrified and horrified Shinobi the world over.

Picking up on the minute discomfort on the Hokage's face, Mei tilted her head to the side in amusement, before she gave the older man a slight nod and another smirk. "But anyway, I do thank you for hosting the Chunin Exams this year they appear to be going well, and for the hospitality you have extended to my Shinobi and myself during our stay."

Minato's smile became slightly more genuine as he heard that, he might not trust this woman in the slightest, but she was at least pleasant to both speak to and look at, a far cry from the other Kages from Suna, Iwa and Kumo, all of whom were older, aggressive, arrogant men, with quite obvious personality flaws. Mei Terumi however seemed to ooze sexuality and had a certain charm about her that almost drew you in.

Even so the woman was the Kage of a barely neutral Hidden Village, and one did not simply become a Kage for no reason. It required more than just power and skill. No, it also required a sharp mind, an indomitable will and a complete ruthlessness.

"It's no problem." Minato finally replied, looking across at the younger woman and her group of bodyguards with a smile, his own bodyguards and advisors all standing behind him. The two groups in question were currently standing just outside of the Hokage's Tower as they made the expected, formal meet and greet before the Exams started.

Unfortunately this was something that was expected when Kages met, especially during joint Chunin Exams when the Kages of one of the five great Shinobi Villages were visiting due to their own Shinobi taking part.

Watching this from the sidelines, with the rest of Mei's bodyguard, consisting of the three current members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Viktor, Clementine and Mangetsu, Naruto had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he watch the two leaders pass meaningless platitudes back and forth. Platitudes that he knew neither of them probably cared about, but which were still done for the sake of propriety.

It almost made him wish that he had stuck with his 'genin' team, all of whom had been sent to book into one of the hotel rooms that were specifically put aside for the competitors almost immediately after they had arrived.

Of course if he had done that, then he would also have had to deal with the loud mouthed Suigetsu, whose attitude was just as irritating as before, despite Naruto having literally tried to beat it out of him over the last month when Naruto had been forced to train both him and his other 'genin'.

Not that Naruto had done much of the training himself as for the most part he had just acted as a sparring partner and let them develop their own skills on their own or with other Shinobi, after all his own skillset wasn't really applicable to their own.

What with Chojuro and Suigetsu being members of the Seven Swordsmen, which was why they had been mostly trained by the other current members, or at least those who could be bothered, like Viktor and Mangetsu. The chances of Clementine bothering to train or help anyone were nonexistent, not unless she benefited in some way, or she liked the people in question, which again was pretty much impossible as she only liked two people, Naruto and Viktor.

As for Hodan, well he specialized in using his Bloodline ability for combat, something Naruto could understand, but which he couldn't really help with, what with the differences in their abilities.

Still despite that he had sparred with each of them, and sometimes against them in groups, pushing them as hard as he could, sometimes brutally harsh as he showed them just why he had been tagged as an S-rank Shinobi.

This had of course led to some injuries and quite a few beating, but unfortunately though it was necessary, after all with the upcoming invasion they would need to be ready, as they, along with Mei's bodyguard, would be her elite forces during the invasion, and those expected to be in the very thick of the fighting.

Looking past Minato, Naruto absentmindedly looked over at those with the Hokage, his father's bodyguards and advisors, absentmindedly ignoring the ANBU he could feel hiding in the shadows, as he instead focused on the two people standing behind him, one of whom was Jiraiya of the Sannin, whilst the other was Kushina.

Making eye contact with Kushina, Naruto's eyes widened slightly when he saw the red head give him a smile and a nod. With there being no hint of distrust or suspicion in her violet eyes. Something that somewhat took Naruto aback, though there was a possibility that she could just be masking those emotions, but somehow he didn't believe this was the case.

Still he wasn't sure why she would. After all to her he was just a foreign Shinobi who she had had a couple of conversations with, nothing more. On top of that he had killed Kakashi, her husband's former student and Kushina's friend. Then again maybe protecting her children trumped that offence, or at least mitigated it.

Either way he wasn't sure, all he did know was that she was not acting overtly negative towards, unlike Jiraiya who was not even trying to hide his look of distrust, or Minato who had thus far not given him more than a cursory, dismissive glance.

"Well anyway, I look forward to watching the Exams go off without a hitch." Mei then continued with a smile, giving another nod to Minato as their brief conversation came to an end, the formalities having now been adhered to.

"Yes, and can I just say I hope for a Konoha victory." Minato smiled back, his blues eyes flashing in amusement as a slight smile spread across Mei's full lips.

"Well I'm afraid there we will have to disagree, after all how can I not cheer for my own cute, little genin." Mei shot back, her green eyes glittering with amusement.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow in amusement as he heard this, more because of how trivial it all was, after all everyone in the Kiri party knew that an invasion was coming. Still such comments were required in order to avoid suspicion, they couldn't tip their hands this early.

"I suppose I can't blame you for that." Minato replied, before he gave another slight bow. "However, if you will excuse me, the duties of the Hokage are never ending, and as pleasant as this has been I do have other things that currently require my attention."

"Why of course, I understand exactly where you are coming from." Mei replied simply, accepting the end to the conversation, as she then proceeded to make her farewells and lead her group away, heading for a very posh hotel that had been set aside for visiting nobles, Daimyos and Village Leaders. One which would no doubt be nicer than the hotel for the visiting competitors and their Sensei's.

Following behind her as he heard this, Naruto gave the Konoha group one last look before he turned his back on them. His eyes narrowing slightly as he saw Minato and Jiraiya sharing a few quiet words, before the large, white haired Sannin gave the Kiri group an odd look, making eye contact with Naruto for a moment, before he turned and left. Leaving, Minato, Kushina and their ANBU guards alone, as the group turned around and walked back into the Hokage's Tower, making haste as the final stage of the Chunin Exams would soon be beginning.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"So do we do now?" Clementine asked as the group of Kiri Shinobi, minus the 'genin', gathered in Mei's suite of rooms, all of which were highly plush and filled with expensive looking furniture and decoration, not that that had stopped Naruto, Clementine and Viktor from sweeping the room for listening devices and seals.

Jiraiya of the Sanin was infamous for knowing things he shouldn't after all, and was purported to have a massive spy network that encompassed the Elemental Nations. On top of which Kushina was known to be one of the last of the Uzumaki, and if there was one thing the Uzumaki was known for, aside from their short tempers and red hair, it was their ability with Seals.

"Why we attend the Chunin Exam of course, and support our genin as they represent our Village to the spectators, nobles and Daimyo's alike." Mei replied pleasantly to the loudmouthed blonde as she lounged back on one of the comfortable looking chairs, a slight curl to her lips as she saw the impatience on Clementine's face.

The blonde haired, pink eyed girl flipping one of her stiletto blades in her hand as she leant against a nearby table, clad as she was in her striking if a little scandalous outfit which consisted of numerous forehead protectors, that she had taken from foes she had killed, being forged together to create a macabre pieces of armour that covered her small but firm breasts, her forearms, her thighs and waist. Her lower stomach having been left open to the air, along with her upper arms.

"Pain, Viktor and you, Clementine, will be joining me in the top box as my bodyguards, whilst Mangetsu will be taking over as the genin's Jounin Sensei." Mei continued after a few moments, her green eyes trailing from the fidgeting blonde, to the bored looking Pain with his crimson irises and black sclera, and the eerily grinning Viktor who was fiddling around with his own needle like sword.

Looking over to Mei at her words, Naruto couldn't help but frowned as he heard her orders, an expression shared by Mangetsu as they both looked over to Mei in confusion.

"Why the sudden change? I am one of the Seven Swordsmen and your bodyguard?" Mangetsu asked abruptly, not sparing Naruto a glance, as although they didn't exactly dislike each other, nor did they really like one another either, or have anything to do with one another.

"Because I am going to be in an area filled with Kages, Sannin and S-rank Shinobi, I am going to need my Ace with me if I am to come out on top." Mei replied, sending Naruto a significant look at this, one which spoke of her knowing something none of the other save Naruto knew, a look of hidden communication, which made Naruto's face tense for a moment, before he nodded in understanding.

"You think it necessary?" Naruto asked cryptically, with Mei nodding in response.

"I believe so, with so few of our number in the Village at present, we'll need to use all of our trump cards to ensure we come out on top." Mei responded, before she looked to Mangetsu.

"So that's it, you think him stronger than me?" Mangetsu asked, a hint of anger entering his tone now as he glared at Mei.

"Due to his unique and overpowered Bloodline, he is indeed stronger than you Mangetsu, there is no point in denying that. Especially when working in his three man team." Mei replied honestly, not batting an eyelash at the hostility in his tone. "I am not about to lie to you. But you are still one of my strongest Shinobi, and that is why I brought you. You and the three 'genin' will have your own mission when the invasion starts."

Mangetsu frowned at that, but said no more, his pride somewhat appeased, even if he didn't like the blunt declaration that Pain was stronger than him.

Mei nodded in satisfaction at that, before she looked over at the others. "Tomorrow will be of crucial importance for our Village, there can be no mistakes. Ao and Furui both have their orders and duties, so do all of you. We must act cohesively and as one, if we succeed the reward will be great, but if we fail it could lead to another drawn out war starting."

All of those assembled nodded, even as Naruto grit his teeth, understanding as he did just what he might have to do tomorrow.

 **( - )**

 **(On the streets of Konoha)**

It was sometime later that evening that Naruto left the hotel and headed for the Shinobi Village's high street, Clementine tagging along with him as Viktor and Mangetsu stayed with Mei as he protection detail. Both of them more than happy to get outside after having been trapped in Mei's suite going over the plans for the next few days in excruciating detail for the last couple of hours.

It was unfortunately really, but Orochimaru had hardly been forthcoming in regards to his grand plans, not when he first approached Mei under the guise of the Otokage, the snake wasn't an idiot after all. This of course meant that they only knew what he deemed they needed to about his plans, though the information Naruto had gotten out of recently departed Kabuto had helped supplement what they did know.

Still despite that they still created numerous contingency plans based on speculation about when Orochimaru will trigger his invasion, and how his forces, Suna's forces and Konoha's forces will act. It had been exhausting to say the least.

"Ahh thank the gods, I thought we would never get out of that stuffy room!" Clementine groaned out loudly, stretching as she did so, the metal on her outfit glittering in the light from the nearby lamps as she twisted this way and that.

Her sudden, loud exclamation causing passing civilians to flinch as the two of them, both now bereft of their full face masks ambled down the high street.

"It wasn't that bad." Naruto replied dryly, his lips quirking upwards beneath the half mask he still had covering his lower face and mouth.

"Well not for you, after all you were in the presence of your precious Mei…" Clementine cooed, her pink eyes glittering with amusement as she saw Naruto's eyes twitch.

 **"** **She's got us there."** You chipped in helpfully, causing Naruto's eye to twitch again as he tried to ignore the ever-present voice of his inner self in his head.

"So anyway, where do you want to go?" Naruto instead asked, swiftly trying to change the conversation now.

"Wait, no biting retort or witty comeback?" Clementine asked mockingly, her mouth curving up into a grin now.

"If you want my cum back you can scrap it off your mum's face." Naruto replied brusquely, looking around at the busy street now with interest as he got one of his first real tastes of Konoha's nightlife during what was practically a festival, ignoring as he did the scandalized looks on the faces of some of the families that rushed past him as they processed what he had just said.

"Wow straight for the mum jokes, scraping the bottom of the barrel there aren't you? You must really be distracted if that's the best you can come up with." Clementine replied glibly with a smirk on her face entirely unbothered by Naruto's comments, after all she had never even met her mum and had no family to speak of, so really low blows like that really didn't affect her. This was something that she knew Naruto knew.

"What do you think?" Naruto shot back, his gaze deadpan.

"Hmm, I think this is more than that." Clementine replied, knowing as she did that he was subtly referencing the intricate plans they had just been discussing and the upcoming invasion. "Normally you would be entirely unconcerned, but for some reason being here in Konoha is making you act a little off…"

Clementine paused here, her gaze fixing on Naruto as he sent her a bland look. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"I didn't." Naruto replied tightly, a hint of warning entering his voice now.

"Nor did you give your name…" Clementine whispered, her voice so low that only Naruto could hear her, even as she shifted closer, her sweet smelling breath ghosting over his ear. "I wonder why that was…?"

"Drop it." Naruto replied just as quietly, only there was a harshness and anger to his voice that had not been there before.

"Whatever you say… Pain." Clementine chuckled after a few moments, dancing forwards with a grin on her face before she turned and smirked at him. "But if I do that you need to cheer up, this is a festival after all, you should be acting festive. There's no need for you to act so 'Grimm'!"

"Really, a pun?" Naruto retorted, though he couldn't help but a smile a bit, something which he knew could be heard in his voice.

"So anyway, where do you want to go?" Clementine asked, sending him a wink as she did so.

"Well I wouldn't mind going somewhere to eat, I'm pretty hungry." Naruto shrugged looking around as he did so.

"Well there's plenty around if you fancy grabbing a bite, we can even share?" Clementine replied, her lips curving up into a feral grin as she looked around at the surrounding crowd. "Hey we can even bring something back for Viktor too!"

"You know what I meant." Naruto replied with a sigh, ignoring the fact Clementine, who was a cannibal by nature, was actually referring to them plucking some innocent of the street and eating them. Naruto getting the soul and Clementine the meat, whilst Viktor would be given a few organs or limbs, things he could use in conjunction with his own Bloodline ability to swap out his own body parts.

"Fine!" Clementine groaned out, raising her arms up and resting her hands on her shoulder length, golden blonde hair as she exhaled loudly, once again making some of the more nervous civilians flinch. "So where do you want to go?"

"There was a good Ramen place the last time I was here." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes at his friend's childishness, then again she was still a teenager.

"Do they at least do drinks there?" Clementine groaned, she was lucky enough that she could still enjoy a good drink, even if getting hammered was pretty difficult with her regenerative abilities. Still, it was just a shame she couldn't stomach normal food, it was one of the draw backs of her Bloodline ability, and also one of the reasons why she was one of the Outcasts. Predatory cannibals that needed human flesh to survive weren't exactly the type of person a normal Village would want lurking about.

"Probably." Naruto shrugged, before he began to head towards where he knew the stall was, wending his way through the crowd with ease, Clementine strolling after him, her obvious weapons and armour, and Naruto's mask and stocky build causing civilians to dart out of their way as they did so.

Within a few minutes the two of them had made it to the stall they had been looking for and had taken up stools, the kindly woman behind the counter, Ayame, recognizing Naruto from a month before as she walked over to take their order. "Hey there, it's nice to see you back. What can I get you?"

"Hmm, I'm in the mood for something pretty heavy, lots of broth and lots of meat." Naruto replied, eyeing up the menu as he did before he looked at the pretty, older girl. "Anything you can recommend?"

"I think I have the perfect thing for you." Ayame grinned at him.

"Then please do surprise." Naruto replied with a grin of his own.

"What about you Miss?" Ayame then asked the bored looking Clementine politely.

"I'm not really here to eat. If you have any drinks though, preferably the alcoholic variety, then I'll have that!" Clementine shot back brusquely, but not impolitely, after all she didn't need Pain nagging her about her manners, which he tended to do when she was rude to someone he liked.

"A saucer of Saki coming up." Ayame nodded, her smile fading slightly as she noticed Clementine's age which could be barely around fourteen or fifteen, though she did still try to be accommodating.

"Forget the saucer, just bring the bottle and two shot glasses." Clementine replied fishing around in the pocket of Naruto's trousers as she did so, before she dropped his stupid turtle themed wallet on the counter, sending the white haired teen a sultry grin as she did so. "He's paying."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he saw this, but didn't deny it as he instead just gave Ayame a commiserating smile. "Sorry about my friend, she never really did learn the finer points of polite conversation, manners and etiquette."

"Bite me." Clementine shot back at Naruto, before her face suddenly turned mischievous as she licked her lips. "Or would you rather I bite you?"

"Maybe later." Naruto replied dryly, making Clementine blink in surprise at that response, even as he turned back to the now smiling Ayame and rolled his eyes.

"It's no problem, being in a Shinobi Village I tend to get all sorts of eccentric people coming in." Ayame replied with a slight laugh, before her gaze flickered to just behind Naruto. "The Namkaze's and Uzumaki's being just one example."

Naruto blinked as he heard that, before he turned around, only to nearly freeze as he saw Kushina, Mito, Erza and the young, still scarred Sasuke Uchiha walking into the stall. All four of them pausing at the sight of Naruto and Clementine, Mito flinching, Erza and Kushina smiling pleasantly and Sasuke instinctively grabbing the scarred side of his neck, as they saw him.

"I'll just go put in your order." Ayame spoke up, an awkward look on her face as she sensed a bit of tension between the two groups, her soft brown eyes flickering between the two before she turned and headed into the kitchen.

"So, this is fun." Clementine tagged on too, also noticing the tension. However unlike Ayame, Clementine didn't feel awkward at all, instead she looked positively delighted by the sudden tension she could feel between Pain and the three redheads and one boy.

"Kushina." Naruto said, pushing down his discomfort of calling his mother by her given name as he instead just gave her a nod and a smile. "It's been a while, how've you been?"

"Busy." Kushina replied after a few moments, a smile spreading across her own face as she strode forwards and took the seat next to Pain, her team following her lead. "It's nice to see you again though Pain, I was worried you wouldn't be coming back, not after everything that happened the other month..."

"Mei commanded and I answered." Naruto shrugged, knowing as he did that she was referring to the way Minato and Jiraiya treated him, like a snake that was about to strike at any time, despite the fact that he had saved Minato's daughters and the last Uchiha back in the Forest of Death. "How are you all, have you recovered from that unpleasantness in the forest?" Naruto continued looking to his sisters now, both of whom had taken up seats on the other side of their mother.

"Yes, fine." Erza replied quickly, brushing her long crimson hair back behind her shoulder as she smirked at Naruto, her sharp, violet eyes flashing with some indecipherable emotion as she met Naruto's crimson ones, her smile widening as she did so. "It was a learning experience, one I intend to use to my advantage."

Kushina rolled her eyes at that. "What she means is she's been training almost continuously since the fight."

"Why? Is it because you want to catch up to that old, snake faced bastard, Orochimaru?" Clementine butted in rudely, getting several surprised looks from the others, and a sigh from Naruto. "Oh yeah I'm Clementine by the way, since shit for brains over here didn't introduce me."

Naruto gave Kushina and her daughters a long suffering look as Clementine said that, getting a soft laugh from Kushina in response.

"Charmed I'm sure." Erza replied disapprovingly, her violet eyes trailing up and down Clementine's lithe, athletic form in distaste, focusing on the number of looted forehead protectors she had used to make her outfit and the many blades she was openly, almost arrogantly wearing. "But no, the one I intend to catch up with is Pain of Kirigakure, someone not that much older than me, but who is already an S-rank."

"Wait you want to catch up with me?" Naruto asked, a bemused look on his face now as their roles seemed to have reversed now since their childhood, after all back then he had been the one wanting to catch up to his two sisters.

"And why would I not, you are a deadly and dangerous Shinobi, one skilled beyond your age. What better measuring stick could I have than you?" Erza asked, her tone still strong and confident, though now Naruto could notice a hint of pink on Erza's cheeks as she gazed at him, and a flash of worryingly familiar emotion in her violet eyes, one that Naruto could now recognise.

 **"** **I think our sister as a crush on us."** You butted in helpfully, his usually dry and sarcastic voice filled with mirth as he mocked his outer self.

'Do shut up.' Naruto thought back, before he gave Erza a nod. "Well thanks I suppose Erza. What about your sister, has she been training with you too?"

"Yes, she has." Mito replied acerbically, her previous discomfort vanishing now as she sent Naruto a scowl. "And she is here and can answer for herself."

"Mito." Kushina groaned, shaking her head as her daughter, who was so like her both in appearance and temperament, seemed to flare up with indignation.

"Sorry, you just looked a little… uncomfortable before." Naruto replied, unsure what to say now.

"Wow she kind of looks like a tomato now doesn't she? You know with the red hair, round face and now the angry red cheeks." Clementine tagged on helpfully, causing Mito's temper to flare yet again and her face to redden even more. Kushina letting out a slight groan at the comment too, even as Erza once again clicked her teeth in disapproval of Clementine's actions.

"You wanna to go!?" Mito shouted, her attention now entirely on the grinning Clementine, her hands clenched into fists and her long crimson hair, still in a ponytail, waved about behind her as she practically shook with outrage.

"Mito enough." Kushina cut in, her tone sharp now as she looked over at the still smirking Clementine, her violet eyes meeting Clementine's pink ones warningly. "These Shinobi are here as guests in our village, and so should be treated as such."

"They should also act as such." Naruto tagged on, his gaze flickering over to the surprised Clementine as he did so, who in response sent him a look of betrayal, and then confusion as she looked between Naruto and the three red heads.

"Indeed," Kushina nodded, sending Naruto another smile now, before she looked back to Mito. "Besides you would be in a lot of danger if you were to fight her. She is not the kind of Shinobi that a genin should be trifling with."

"Oh ho, it sounds like you recognise me." Clementine mused, licking her lips again now as she eyed the wary looking Kushina up and down, her pink eyes then flicking over to the stern Erza, the still angry looking Mito, and the boy, who even now was just watching the proceedings calmly, his dark eyes occasionally flicking to Pain, a hint of challenge and fascination in them. "Though I can't say I ever had the pleasure of meeting you before? I think I would have remembered."

"Nor I you, though I have heard of you." Kushina replied, before she looked to her teammates. "As you know Pain here was once known as the S-rank Hunter-nin Grimm, I believe you met him in Wave. Clementine though, from what I have heard she is his former teammate, the Hunter-nin known only as 'the Cannibal', and is a powerful A-rank in her own right, and is responsible for killing Zabuza Momochi and many other missing-nins."

Mito and Sasuke both flinched at the reminder of Wave, both of them looking nervously over at the two Kiri Shinobi now, both of them remembering the confrontation and ensuing fight in Wave. Sasuke more intrigued than ever as he cautiously watched the person who killed Kakashi Hatake. Mito's reaction though was harder to read.

"You're very well informed." Clementine mused, before she tilted her head. "Then again I have heard that that pervert Jiraiya has a formidable spy network."

Kushina smiled slightly at that but said no more as she instead locked eyes with Clementine, violet boring into pink and vice versa as some unspoken battle began to take place between the two powerful Shinobi.

"But anyway." Naruto interrupted, sighing at their actions, before he then looked over at his sisters. "How have you been? I didn't speak to you after the events in the forest, in part because I didn't really know what to say after, well after what happened in Wave."

"You mean when you killed our Sensei?" Mito asked harshly.

"Yes." Naruto replied bluntly.

"It's the life of a Shinobi, few of us ever die of old age. Most of us fight until we meet someone better than ourselves, at which point we die." Sasuke finally spoke up, his tone bland and his expression disinterested. "Death walks hand in hand with the life of a Shinobi."

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he heard that. "Wise words. You're an Uchiha aren't you?"

Sasuke nodded at that, stiffening slightly as he watched Pain's cold, crimson eyed gaze examining him.

"Then I suppose you'd be used to death, you are after all one of the last of your family." Naruto said, not offering any sympathy or empathy to the boy, in part because he knew the brat wouldn't accept or want any, and in part because that wasn't who he was as a person. "That's good, the sooner you shed your naivety the longer you'll live."

Sasuke grunted at that, before he looked away.

"Here's your order!" Ayame suddenly called out breaking the following silence as she walked out of the kitchen a large steaming bowl in one hand and a bottle of Saki and two glasses on a tray in the other. Both of which she put in front of Naruto and Clementine before she turned to take Kushina and her team's orders.

"Thanks." Naruto nodded, before he pulled his bowl over, basking in the warm, wonderful scent of the food before he began to dig in.

"Finally." Clementine said at the exact same time, pouring out two generous glass of the strong spirit before she then took a swig straight from the bottle, letting out a gasp of pleasure as the burning liquid slid down her throat, and smacking her lips as she did so.

"Do they not teach you any manners in Kiri?" Erza asked irritably as she looked over at Clementine, even as Naruto began to devour his meal with gusto.

"Oh they do, but I'm not from Kiri, not originally anyway. No I'm an Outcast born and bred." Clementine shot back with a grin, clinking glasses with Naruto as he came up for air from his food and grabbed his own drink. "Not like Pain here, I mean who knows where he comes from…"

Naruto's eyes flashed as he heard that, even as he shot Clementine a warning look, which only garnered a smirk form the girl in response.

"Outcast?" Erza asked in confusion.

"I'll tell you later." Kushina replied, cutting off any need for an explanation as she once again looked over to their neighbours.

"So is your team ready for the Exam?" Kushina asked, returning the conversation to safer grounds now, after all talk of murder and death were not exactly acceptable at the dinner table, or at least not in Kushina's household.

"As ready as they'll ever be." Naruto shrugged noncommittally, inwardly thankful to Kushina for changing the topic.

"Ha don't be modest Pain, our boys will crush the competition." Clementine shouted out, a grin on her face as she saw all three genin stiffen at that challenge, before they glared at her.

"You seem very confident." Kushina mused, placing her hand on her more impetuous daughter Mito's shoulder as she did so.

"Anything can happen." Naruto shrugged neutrally, sending his blonde friend another warning look as he did so. "But what about you, are your team ready for the Exam?"

"As I said I've been preparing, and am stronger than ever before. I am more than ready to meet any challenge that may come my way." Erza spoke up first, her eyes blazing with confidence.

"Yeah I doubt anyone will provide that much of a challenge, not even your team." Mito shot back, her gaze not leaving Naruto, as she once again gave him a very strange look, one that not even he could interpret. "Erza's not the only one that's been training, I have too. And not just my Sensory abilities but also…"

"Not in front of Shinobi from another Village Mito." Erza cut in with a sigh, before she sent Naruto an apologetic look. "Not that there is anything wrong with you, it's just, well you know…"

"Yes I understand." Naruto replied with a nod, before he looked over to Sasuke, the one Orochimaru had been hunting, the one the Snake Sanin was so interested in. "What about you Uchiha?"

"Hn, no one will stand in my way." Sasuke replied bluntly, his hand once again moving to the scar on his neck as he gave Naruto a challenging, slightly angry look, one that Naruto could not quite see the reason behind.

"I see, well that's good." Naruto nodded, before he waved over at Ayame, catching her attention as she came back in with Kushina and her team's orders. "Can we get another glass please?"

"Sure." Ayame chirped.

"How about a drink Kushina?" Naruto then asked as Ayame brought over another glass, and Naruto wrestled the half empty Saki bottle off of Clementine, filling up the three glasses once he did so before offering one to the red head.

Kushina titled her head in amusement as she heard that, before she picked up the glass, her gaze flicking over it as if trying to see any possible way it could have been interfered with, before she then shrugged. "Why not."

"Hey can we have some too?" Mito cut in next.

"Yes, I would like to join as well." Erza added on, her gaze once again on Naruto.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted, in disinterest.

"No, you're too young." Kushina shot back.

"We're not that much younger than those two!" Mito complained gesturing at the smirking Naruto and Clementine now.

"Well they're not my children." Kushina shot back looking back at Mito now, who merely scowled truculently back at her, Erza adding her own scowl to the mix.

Sasuke meanwhile frowned, though not at Kushina's words, not that he thought she would ever allow him to drink either, but instead at Pain as his right eye seemed to twitch and his lips, barely visible through the half mask, also seemed to curve downwards for a moment. A very odd reaction, and not one he thought the usual calm and composed S-rank Shinobi would let slip.

"So what should we drink too?" Kushina asked obliviously as she quashed her daughter's complaints and turned back to the two Kiri Shinobi.

"To the Chunin Exams, may they be bloody and brutal." Clementine shrugged raising her glass and ignoring the eye roll from Naruto and Kushina's sigh as by now she had already gotten a good grasp of the blonde Shinobi's personality.

"To the peaceful co-existence between the different Shinobi Villages." Kushina shot back raising her own glass now, her lips twitching as she saw Clementine scowl.

"Well that would just put us all out of the job." The blonde muttered.

"To the future." Naruto finally said, rolling his eyes before he raised his glass and clinked it with the other two, after which they then downed their drinks.

 **( - )**

 **(In the Kage's Box the next day)**

With a roll of his eyes Naruto had to refrain from letting out a bored sigh as he leant against one of the pillars in the Kage's box, his bored, crimson eyed gaze looking over at the four seats in the box, which contained Kazekage the leader of Sunagakure, the OtoKage the leader of Otogakure, the Hokage the leader of Konohagakure and finally the Mizukage, Mei. All of whom were making dry comments and sarcastic digs at one another, engaging in a verbal battle as they each tried to one up each other, without appearing to give insult.

All of them acting like they were all quite friendly as they sat in their large, throne like seats, all of which were on a slight raised dais that looked down into the arena below where the beginning of the Chunin Exam final round had just been announced and the first competitors had been called up to start the tournament off.

It was still quite early in the day, but in spite of that Naruto had been up for a while now. Already he had checked over all of his weapons, and gone through his usual set of warmups, readying himself to fight at any moment.

The same could be said for both Clementine and Viktor who were also in the box, both of them trying to look casual as they had their swords slung over their shoulders and their masks on, even as their sharp, experienced eyes flickered back and forth looking for any potential threat to Mei.

The same could be said for all of the other Shinobi in the box, the guards of the four Kages, all of whom were eyeing the foreign Shinobi around them cautiously, their eyes constantly switching back and forth between the different Shinobi in the area. More than a few looking over at Naruto, the only known S-rank Shinobi amongst the assembled bodyguards.

Noticeably absent from the surrounding Shinobi was Jiraiya, who strangely was not at Minato's side like he had been the last few time Naruto had seen him, instead the man was missing, his location currently unknown to the Kiri group.

The same though could not be said for Kushina, who even as he watched could be seen throwing caution to the wind, a grin on her face as she waltzed over to Minato's seat and leaned against the arm of her husband's chair, whispering in his ear for a moment, before she then excitedly settled herself on the arm of the seat and looked down at the arena below.

As this was happening Minato initially went red in the face with embarrassment as he felt the judging eyes of the Kazekage on him at first, as well as the amused, salacious gaze of the Mizukage and the faintly surprised gaze of the Otokage. But only for a moment as Kushina then gave them all an amused look, before turning back to the arena, putting an end to any questioning or commentary from them before it could even begin.

Rolling his eyes at the unpredictable woman's actions, Naruto instead looked out at the arena itself. Already he could see that the place was packed out, every seat seemed to have been taken up by spectators, all of them shouting and roaring their enthusiasm as the first of the matches was about to begin.

None of them were aware that at some point very soon all of the fun was going to come to an end, and war was going to come to Konoha.

 **( - )**

 **AN: And so the Chunin Exams final round has begun. That being said I won't be covering all the fights in my writing as honestly I don't' really want too. That being said I might cover a few for reasons, before I finally get down to the climax of what the last few chapters have been building to, the Konoha Crush, or at least I think that's what they call the arc in canon. Not that anything in this story will follow canon anymore, not with all the changes.**

 **But anyway, what did you all think I hope you enjoyed it? Please do leave a review. If you have any questions and what not feel free to Pm and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.**

 **Also please do favourite and follow, I would love to break 3000 favourites with this story. Other than that I hope you are all well and continue to enjoy reading what I put out.**

 **If any of you have some time please do check out some of my other stories.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll catch you later.**

 **Seagate.**


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